Choices On Hold
by MissCaralynneMalfoy
Summary: Hermione's gorgeous, Cara's the cousin, Luna's a lunatic, and Ginny's the same little Gryffindor Gossip Girl. Throw in boys, Slytherin and otherwise, and see what you get. Sounds crack-fic-ish, but it's not meant to be, I swear. *On Hold*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A/N: Why hello there. Here's my new story! I just hope you guys like it, and if you have any other suggestions for titles, please don't hesitate to email me. Thanks.

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Hermione woke up from her deep slumber to see the early morning sun pouring in through her window. 'Damn.' She thought, looking at her clock.

She got up and changed, getting ready to meet her cousin, Cara, for some more early morning training. She then looked at her calendar, and nearly jumped for joy. It was very nearly September 1st.

She threw on some running pants and a tshirt, running down the stairs while pulling her bushy hair back out of her face with an elastic.

When she reached the front door of her house, Cara was sitting on her porch, tapping her foot in annoyance and glancing at her watch every couple of seconds.

Hermione smiled. How like her. When she opened the front door, Cara jumped up, eager to go.

"Alrighty, 'Mione, let's get going… you're almost a minute late." Yes, this was definitely Cara. Exercise freak extraordinare, the girl was almost Hermione's opposite.

She stood at about 6 feet, with long, pin straight, dark red hair. She had sharper features than her soft-faced cousin, and her almond shaped green eyes held all of her emotions. When she was angry, she was almost as frightening as Harry himself.

Hermione giggled, and started stretching. "So, you excited for your first day, Care?" she asked, looking up at her cousin from her awkward position on the ground.

Cara just smiled. "You bet. And so totally ready to meet all the GORGEOUS boys at your school, too," she giggled, sighing dreamily. Yes, Cara was most definitely Hermione's opposite.

"Okay, ready," she smiled, bounding down the front steps, "betcha can't catch me!" she laughed, taking off down the path into the woods beside her house.

That statement would have been false at the beginning of the summer, but now that she'd been running for 3 months, she was almost a perfect match for her cousin. Cara just took off after her cousin, laughing the whole way. The chase was on.

After a good two hours of running through the forest, both girls were refreshed and ready to face the day.

Hermoine sighed again, looking at the kitchen calendar. They still had to do all their school shopping. Now that was something Cara couldn't disagree with.

"Hey, Care, we still need to get a few things before school starts… do you wanna go shopping?" She asked, knowing the answer before the question was even out of her mouth.

"Oh dear god, yes." Cara agreed happily, again the perfect example of a 17 year old girl. "Well, we have to get books and stuff too, you know, right?" Hermoine asked, predicting the crestfallen look on her cousin's face. All of a sudden, that look was gone, just to be replaced by a smirk so frightening it could rival Malfoy's in the fear that it struck in Hermione's heart. "Oh man. No. No way. I am NOT letting you give me a makeover Cara. Don't you dare." Sadly, Cara did dare.

Hermione dropped onto her bed, totally exhausted. Nothing could make her this exhausted. Nothing but shopping and makeovers. At least Cara had fixed that mess that Hermione had called hair. Well, she hadn't really done much with it… other than cut it all off. Now it fell to her chin, and the back was cut in an A line, eliminating any possibility of bushiness. Now t hat it was all gone, she felt like a different person. It was so surreal. AS she looked at herself in the mirror, she had the fleeting thought that not even Harry and Ron would recognize her.

'Whatever, at least I don't look like a poodle anymore.' She thought, happily.

While she lay in bed, waiting for sleep to take her, she thought about the day's events, pulling out a little green bound book with her initials embossed in silver on the front. She pulled out a quill, and started to write.

She and Cara had gone to Diagon Alley to get new school supplies and such. First, they went to a wizarding hair salon, and Cara had blindfolded her, so she wouldn't protest when they started chopping off all her hair. She hadn't been allowed to look afterwards, either, so the only thing she knew was that her head felt much lighter than normal.

The next stop was Madame Malkins, for new school robes and dress robes. After that, Cara decided that none of the other clothing shops were quite nice enough, so they stopped into Muggle London to get lunch and more clothes.

Now, Hermione had always come from a wealthy family, as both her parents were dentists, but they had never really shown off that wealth, and they just bought what they needed, rarely more. Cara's family, on the other hand, loved to spend money. They were filthy rich, probably close to or richer than the Malfoys, but they preferred to stay quieter in the Wizarding world, as they were a pure-blooded family with no allegiance whatsoever to Voldemort.

Cara, having grown up in this mindset, was fully prepared to spend as much money as she could on this shopping expedition. Naturally, the first store they went into was one of those crazy expensive, highly regarded Muggle designer clothing stores, and as she was dragged in by an overly enthusiastic 17 year old, Hermione Granger could not have been more trepidatious should she have tried.

Immediately, she gravitated towards the older fashions, things that she was surprised they continued to sell here. These things were more her style. Loose-fitting and frumpy, Hermione felt right at home in the old lady's section of the store. Seeing this, Cara came over right away, leading her fashion ignorant cousin to the newest and most flattering pieces in the place.

After what seemed like hours of being waited on hand and foot, Hermione was becoming tired of the entire experience. She had tried on what felt like thousands of outfits, and to be honest, she never thought that it was possible for her to look so good in clothes.

After running and training all summer, Hermione's body was in top condition, and she had lost all the baby fat that had remained on her body from reading books all day in her favorite chair in the Hogwarts library.

She had never really known her size in anything, preferring to just grab whatever was on the rack closest to her that looked semi-appealing, and after making sure it wasn't too tight or small, she would buy it. Now, she had been informed that she was a size 3, which surprised her, as she had estimated that she was a size 6 or 7 at least.

Cara finally came out of the change room with her last outfit, bought everything she wanted, and somehow managed to convince Hermione to do the same. When Hermione insisted that she only really wanted one outfit, Cara stayed for a few moments, and asked the cashier to just charge all the other outfits to her own account later.

An hour and fourty-five minutes later, with five gorgeous dresses and at least 20 outfits later, the two girls stopped for lunch at a cute little café in Muggle London.

Hermione sighed, remembering the events of the day all over again. It had been surreal for her, sure, but what had happened next had just baffled her.

When Cara and Hermione sat down for lunch, she felt as though they were being eyed like pieces of meat. As she had never really received this kind of attention from men before, Hermione was rightfully uncomfortable.

Somehow, she managed to order her drink normally, without getting up and running as fast as she could. No matter how hard she tried, she didn't think she'd ever get used to being looked at like that.

Thankfully, none of the men came up to them, but when Hermione saw the man walking towards their table, she almost wished that every man in the vicinity had offered her drinks, and come to sit at their table. Every single man but the one with his eyes locked on her, seemingly set to ruin her day.

There, in the middle of London, was Draco Malfoy, ferret extraordinare, looking every inch the high-ranking pureblood that he was.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Holy jeesus. You guys, I am so so sorry. I really didn't mean to leave you hanging this long... holy fuck. I feel like a total piece of shit right about now...

But on with the story. I have left you waiting long enough.

__

Of course, seeing Draco Malfoy was something that Hermione had gotten used to over the past six years of her life, as she DID just so happen to attend the same magical boarding school as him, and he WAS probably the richest, most famous wizard there...

Aside from Harry Potter, of course.

But, however, this Malfoy sighting was something that utterly shocked the Muggle-born witch. Of course, though, being around Malfoy meant that something was up with the Dark Lord... something was happening, and although she didn't feel as though anything was wrong, Hermione knew that she couldn't always trust her instincts.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the appearance of the boy standing in front of her. She had almost expected something... different about him, something... more. She knew that she wouldn't be able to explain it, not even to herself, but she somehow knew that somewhere deep inside her, she really truly thought that something had changed with the youngest Malfoy.

Hermione's hand went straight for her wand, just making sure that if something DID happen, she was prepared to defend anyone in the area at the smallest sign of danger. She glanced quickly around, scanning the area for any signs of danger. She just needed to be prepared.

However, she could never have prepared herself for what happened next. Malfoy, DRACO Malfoy, kneeled at her feet, and put down his wand. She just stared at him in shock.

When his steely grey eyes met her hard brown ones, he sighed, and seemed to slump a bit. A tendril of hair floated down from its place and into his eye, just as he opened his mouth to speak. He glared slightly at the unruly lock, and huffed, before calmly smoothing it back into place.

Hermione could not believe her eyes. Malfoy was human. Who knew.

Finally, with the offending strand of wheat colored hair taken care of, Draco began to talk.

"Look, Gr- er, Hermione," he said, squirming uncomfortably as he said her name for the first time, "I really haven't come here to piss you off or anything... I just wanted to say that I have spoken to Potter, and, while he has not forgiven me (obviously) for any of my past actions, he has decided to reconsider his feelings towards me. I know that you will not understand his reasons for doing so unless he tells you, which, he will not, I assure you, but I would just like you to know that from now on, I do not think of you as an enemy, of someone that I must beat. Nor do I see you as the little Muggle-born girl who constantly had her nose in a book. I have gained a deep respect for your intelligence and wit, and I someday wish to be as sharp as you always are, and always have been." After he was done, it seemed that he could barely meet her gaze. His cheeks seemed to be a bit pink...

"Malfoy, are you BLUSHING?" Hermione giggled, loving the way his eyes narrowed in response to her gentle teasing. IT made her feel more comfortable, more like it was the old Malfoy standing in front of her, and not the polite, and charming young man before her. Though she was loathe to admit it, she could picture herself being with this man, had she not known the way he had been during the majority of their scholarly career.

Suddenly, an elbow came into contact with one of her ribs, breaking her out of her thoughts, and back into reality... How fucked up it was that now her reality was that she was sitting at lunch with Draco Malfoy, who had basically just apologized for all the years that he had called her horrible names, such as "mudblood", and was still kneeling in front of her as if he were about to propose...

"-IONE JANE GRANGER!" Hermione blinked, and looked over to her cousin, the girl who had just so kindly screamed her name in her ear. She had a slight look of amusement on her face, as well as one that Hermione didn't quite know yet. It was one of those looks that said she didn't want to know what exactly was going on behind that pretty face of hers.

"Are you not going to introduce me to this kind young lad, darling Hermione?" Cara questioned, the sparkle still in her eyes, and a wide grin on her face. However, that grin promptly disappeared, to be replaced with a look of shock and horror, when Hermione opened her mouth.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, meet my cousin, Caralynne Bailey Johnson. Cara, the so-called "kind young lad" is Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and heir to the Malfoy fortune."

The entire cafe went dead silent as Cara's hand connected hard with Malfoy's face, turning his head and sending a reverberating crack throughout the square.

Hermione couldn't have done it better herself, or at least, that was her opinion. Malfoy's face had the telltale marking of a man slapped, and his eyes had a dangerous sparkle to them.

"Malfoy! I can't even BELIEVE that you'd see fit to show your face around here, especially to my cousin." Cara said, leaping to her feet, and getting right in Malfoy's face. "Haven't you caused this poor girl enough pain already? She has had to spend 6 years of her life listening to you little ferret calling her names, and making her doubt that she was anything less than extraordinary."

Malfoy looked as if he had been slapped across the face again, and opened his mouth, as if to speak, before closing it again, and turning and walking away. Cara huffed, and started ranting about "the NERVE of the guy! Can't believe that he'd just saunter on over here…" Hermione tuned her out, and watched Malfoy's slowly retreating back. She didn't trust him, but she was fully aware that something had changed in him, and knew that he wouldn't lie about going to see Harry. 'I wonder what he could have said to make Harry understand, or believe him, and not just send him right to Azkaban…' she wondered.

"Hermione! Are you even listening to me?" Cara asked, once again breaking Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. That git Malfoy just got me to thinking about school again. How different it will be without so many people…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. She raised her head slightly to look at her cousin, who seemed as confused as she was.

"… Well, I guess we better get back to shopping, shouldn't we?" Cara said, a gleam in her eye, and a laugh in her voice. "We can't have our little Gryffindor Princess looking, for all the world, the part of Hogwarts' resident bookworm, now, can we?" She laughed, the bell-like sound tinkling throughout the square where they sat.

Hermione rolled her eyes and agreed, making sure to drop a few bills on the table as they walked away. She hated shopping.

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A/N: OH MY FUCKING GOD, you guys …. I am so so sorry! I totally did not mean to keep you all waiting so goddamn long! I almost forgot about this story, and I promise I won't let it happen for a while. I have just gotten my grove back on, after reading an entire summer full of romance novels and fanfiction.

I just want you guys to know, right off the bat, that it takes a long time for a relationship full of trust and love (real, not lust), and that I will not be following the grain of most Dramione stories and making them fall in love right away. That is not fair to you guys, nor is it an accurate portrayal of how these two would act in such a situation.

I apologize for the ridiculous wait, as I remember writing this when it was still cold outside.

I thank you all,

MissusMalfoy


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story except Caralynne. J K Rowling is the coolest person ever, and I would never use her works to make myself money.

Great, now that that's all cleared up, I can get on with the story. I was up pretty late last night trying to get this out, and well, so I hope you guys like it. Like I said, I do not plan on leaving this story hanging, because there are some great plans for it in the future. It is meant to end up as a novel length story, so I hope you guys can all handle the fact that it will take a long time to come to completion.

I know that there has been nothing so far that requires a rating of M, but just bear with me.

--

All of a sudden, September came around. Hermione and Cara were finally going home to Hogwarts. Hermione for the last time, and Cara for both first and last.

While Hermione was obviously really excited, she was also fairly nervous, because of Cara's attendance this year. She was not concerned that Cara wouldn't make friends, or get along with people, she was just worried about her sorting.

Cara was not the kind of girl that would generally be in Gryffindor, and she was not intellectual enough for Ravenclaw, or meek enough for Hufflepuff. That only left one house. Slytherin. The home of Hogwarts' reigning scaly Prince, Draco Malfoy.

For obvious reasons, Hermione did not want her lovely cousin in a den of snakes, although, coming from Australia, Cara would likely be able to handle them. The question was, would they be able to handle her?

Hermione and Cara were completely silent as they drove to Kings Cross Station. Hermione, for reasons that were just made known, and Cara for different reasons. Reasons pertaining to one of the most famous Hogwarts students ever known. Harry Potter. Hermione's best friend, and the object of most, if not all of Cara's lust. And now they were attending the same school. She felt faint with just the thought.

When they caught sight of the magnificent station, they were both startled out of their thoughts. Hermione pulled into one of the only empty parking spots, a crazy distance from the entrance. However, when she was taking the keys out if the ignition, she saw a crowd of ginger haired people, with a shaggy black haired man in the middle.

"Harry! Ron! Ginny!" She screamed out, drawing most everyone's attention. Their heads snapped around, hearing the voice of the last member of the Golden Trio. They looked at her oddly for a moment, then took off running towards the car, the two Weasleys almost getting hit by more than a few cars.

When he reached the car, Harry reached in and pulled Hermione out, spinning her around, and placing her, laughing on the ground beside her car. He ran a hand through her hair.

"Where did our little bookworm go?" he asked, smiling. "You changed over the summer, 'Mione. You look amazing." Just then Ron and Ginny caught up, panting heavily.

"Wow. 'Mi. Look. Great." Ron managed to pant out, before leaning heavily on the hood of Hermione's car.

"Hey, hey. None of that. This is a beautiful vehicle. It is meant for relaxing IN, not ON. Hmpf." Huffed Cara, obviously a bit miffed at being left out of the action, and startling Ron into falling onto his arse.

She smiled, and reached out a hand in apology, "Hey, I'm Cara, Mia's cousin from Australia. You're Ronald, I take it?" she introduced herself, dazzling the youngest Weasley boy. "Uh… y-yeah." He stuttered, silenced by Cara's looks.

Looking over to see what was going on, Harry and Cara locked eyes. Cara smiled coyly, and Harry blushed scarlet and smiled back, holding out a hand. "I'm Harry." He said, still looking a bit overwhelmed. "Cara." She replied, and pulled him into a bear hug.

"I'm your biggest fan," she whispered in his ear, seductively, and Hermione couldn't help but giggle as she saw him blush even redder. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned right into a huge hug from the youngest member of the Weasley family.

"Ginny! How are you?!" she said, excited to see her best girl friend. After a bit of small talk, Hermione glanced at Harry, still looking mesmerized by Cara, and lowered her voice.

"What's going on with Harry? You guys aren't still…" she trailed off, seeing the slightly pained look on the younger girl's face. "No, we stopped that a while ago, but I don't know if I still like the decision… Herms, I want him back." She whispered, struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Oh, Gin, it's alright. Don't worry, everything will work out. We'll talk more about it at school, yeah?" She said, trying reassure the upset girl in her arms. "Yeah, okay." Ginny hiccupped.

Hermione pulled out her cell phone, and made a face. They were only 10 minutes early now. There would be very little time to visit with the elder Weasleys and some of the Order. "C'mon guys, we should hurry up," she said, loading up her and Cara's carts, and starting to lead the way to platform 9 3/4. After a few close calls with muggles seeing them disappearing into the wall, and some amazement (on Cara's part), they made it onto the platform, and met up with the adults of the Order.

Hermione had explained the Order of the Pheonix to her cousin with permission from Professor McGonagall, so Cara wasn't confused when Moody, Lupin, and Tonks came up to the teenagers, giving out hugs and things to "keep them safe". Not that there was to be too much danger this year, Harry and Dumbledore had ended Voldemort's reign of terror last year, costing Dumbledore and a few others their lives.

This year, they all got mirrors to communicate with each other, like the mirror that Harry had from Sirius. Upon seeing them, Harry had to turn away, tears in his eyes. When Sirius had fallen through the Veil, Harry had tried and tried to contact him through the mirror, but it seemed that his godfather had left it in 12 Grimmauld Place, so even if it were possible, Harry would not have been able to speak to him.

The whistle blew, and all of a sudden they were rushing around, trying to get everything organized and on the train. Hermione was just thankful that she had magically enlarged the inside of her trunk so that all of her new clothes fit. Finally, they were on the train, moving closer towards their last, and sure to be eventful last year at Hogwarts.

--

About 15 minutes into their journey, Professor McGonagall came into their compartment, and asked to speak to Hermione. She informed her of her position as Head Girl, and gave her a pat on the back, and her pin. Hermione, of course, was speechless with excitement, and thanked her Head of House profusely, before heading back into the compartment with instructions to report to the Heads Compartment before the end of the ride.

When she got into the compartment, everyone was smiling at her, having guessed what the talk was about.

"Oh, you're so lucky, Mia!" Cara exclaimed, "I am so sure that whoever the Head Boy is, he'll be a erfect match for you! You two'll make the perfect couple!" She said, earning herself a look from Ron, who then turned to Hermione, saying "You're not actually going to consider DATING the guy, right?"

Hermione just laughed. "You guys, I don't even know who it is yet! It could be Malfoy, for goodness sakes, then you'd all be eating your words." At the mention of their old enemy, Ron, Cara, and Ginny made a face, but Hermione was looking straight at Harry when she said it, and he just gave her a "we need to talk" look. She nodded in response.

"Well, I better be going, McGonagall wants me in the Heads Compartment sometime soon, I think," she said, getting up and grabbing her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

As she was walking down the hallway, she worried about what the year would bring. She had a bad feeling, and the closer they got to school, the worse it got. So lost in her worries was she, that she didn't even see the man standing in front of her until she was flat on her arse, looking at up at his smiling face.

He was tall, about 6 foot 4, and he had beautiful dark skin, eyes, and hair, and the most gorgeous smile. He held his hand out to her, offering to help her up.

"I see you discovered my ability to impersonate a brick wall," he said, in a high class Italian accented drawl. He ran his eyes up and down her body, before looking at her in slight confusion.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've seen you around here before… are you the new student?" He said, looking slightly confused, as if he thought he knew her face, but couldn't place it. This must be the other half of the Slytherin royalty, Malfoy's right-hand man, and fellow Sex God, Blaise Zabini.

"Oh, you know me, I'm sure," she said, a laugh in her voice, "but if you don't, the name's Hermione. My friends call me 'Mione, though," she said, almost laughing at the widening of his eyes, and the way his jaw almost dropped. She was sure that if he hadn't had manners drilled into him by parents that it would be somewhere near his knees.

"You're Blaise, right? Zabini?" she asked, trying to start a little conversation. He seemed alright, for a snake. And he's pretty, she reminded herself. Maybe Cara was right, maybe this was the year for change and new relationships. Maybe Blaise wouldn't be a bad start.

Finally the man seemed to come out of his stupor, and grinned at her. "Yeah, it's Blaise. I take it you're to be my other half for the rest of the year?" he said, a smile in his voice, and a kind chuckle when he saw her reaction to that little bit of news. "Oh, you're Head Boy? I didn't know that Slytherin bred smart people…?" She said, smiling to show she was teasing him. He just smiled. This was going to be a good year.

--

Hermione sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that evening. She sat in her rooms, looking around. It wasn't that she wasn't happy with them, it was just that they were too… rich. She had grown up generally not spending more than what she needed to, but this year, what with Cara and all, she had been thrust into the world of the rich and powerful, it seemed.

Again, she looked around, sighing. The rooms were gorgeous, but it was too much for her. They were huge! She thought back to when she and Blaise were brought to their dorms.

.:.:..:.:.:.

After eating the magnificent opening feast, Professor McGonagall had led the two out of the Great Hall, and across the corridor, to a magnificent tapestry, with the Hogwarts Crest at the top, and a painting of a grand lioness with a scarlet collar, and a majestic green python, with silvery designs on his back. The lioness and snake seemed to be conversing silently when they walked up, then they raised their heads and stared at the two.

"This is the entrance to your rooms. I trust you will find everything to your liking, and remember, although you have your own dorms, that the rules still apply to you two. Although we are always hoping for a miracle allegiance between your houses, you are expected to know the boundaries." She said, looking at them pointedly. Looking over at Blaise, she saw him smirking at her sexily, and had the good grace to blush.

"Now, I will leave you two to explore your rooms on your own. We have made sure to add some secret rooms only available to the two of you, to ensure privacy, and safety in the event of something… unsavory. Now, your password may be changed whenever you both wish it, and remember, as the Headmistress, I will automatically be informed. Now you two may choose the password, or just use the existing one, lassez-faire. I bid you both goodnight." With that, McGonagall turned with a swirl of her robes, and strode away.

"Well, do you want to change the password, or are you alright with it?" Hermione asked Blaise, not really caring either way. "Well, in this situation, I feel as though it is appropriate to leave it be." Blaise said, looking over to her for conformation.

"Yes, it means something along the lines of 'let it be', right? I think that is perfect for this situation." She agreed, now turning to the tapestry.

"Lassez-faire." She said in a clear, strong voice, addressing the two animals in the painting. The python looked at Blaise, and after seeming to approve of him, he turned to Hermione. He looked her up and down, before nodding to the lioness, who had just done the same, in reverse order. Then, the two turned to the teenagers, and nodded, wordlessly letting them pass.

The common room was more than Hermione had ever expected in all her years. She looked around, admiring the design of the space. It was very modern, but very plain. They wandered around, looking at the furniture, and the reading material. Hermione noticed that on the coffee table, neatly organized sat every most recent issue of most of the fashion magazines, and the leading news magazines. There were a few huge, comfy arm chairs, situated around the fireplace.

To one side of the room there was a small kitchenette. On the counter there was a parchment. Hermione picked it up and read:

_Hello Mr. Zabini and Ms. Granger,_

_I hope that you are enjoying your accommodations. It was created in such a way that you two may together choose the color scheme for the common room, and you may each do the same for your personal bedrooms, however the rest of your rooms have had the colors chosen for you. _

_You have both been chosen for a good reason, so keep your wits about you, and remember to encourage House unity. I trust you two to do an amazing job with this. _

_Good luck with your studies, I wish I could have been there long enough to see you complete your education with us. Unfortunately, if you are reading this, I am likely dead. _

_Sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

Hermione felt tears gathering in her eyes, but managed to hold them back, and turned back to Blaise, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Wow. So I guess the old man was organized, and knew what he wanted to happen." Blaise said, with a small smile in place on his gorgeous face. "Well, either that or he just knew what McGonagall was sure to do," Hermione suggested.

"Hmm, maybe, it's possible. Well anyways, you can choose the color scheme, I'm no good at that kind of thing. Just please don't make it red and gold…" he said, laughing at the end.

Hermione grinned in response, and started thinking of the colours that would look good in that space. She liked the fact that it was very modern deco, that gave her a smaller range of color to choose from. "Do you like purple, Blaise?" she asked, picturing the room in white, black, and violet.

"I don't think I've ever seen a color scheme based around the color, but I guess I trust you not to make the room hideous," he teased, looking around, wondering what she was thinking.

Hermione smiled. She had it. "So you agree with my idea then?" She asked, just making sure that this would work.

"Yeah, totally," Blaise answered, and they both felt the magic in the room acknowledge his answer. In response, Hermione closed her eyes, and pictured the room as she wanted it.

As Blaise watched, things started changing color. The walls remained white, but the shag carpet turned black. The couch turned violet, and the throw pillows were white and black. As it turned out, those three colors ended up being the main ones. There were a few splashes of lime green and hot pink around the room, but Blaise couldn't complain. The girl had an eye for design.

They wandered around, looking at everything, Hermione proud of how it turned out, and Blaise making little sounds of approval at random intervals. They sat on the couch and talked for a while, before deciding to go explore their own rooms. There were two doors through the kitchen, the one on the left in silver, the right in gold. Hermione and Blaise seemed to have the same idea, that the color related to house, and went to stand by their respective doors. There weren't any handles on the door, but there was a pad beside the door, which, at closer inspection seemed to be a handprint reader. Hermione put her hand on the pad at her door, and all of a sudden felt magic travel up her arm. As soon as it came, the feeling was gone, and the door opened.

She walked in, wondering what that feeling was, and all of a sudden it left her mind. She had just walked into the most glorious reception area that she had ever seen. It was tastefully decorated in red and gold, and there were gorgeous tapestries hung around the room. She walked up to one, and saw what seemed to be a family tree. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was the family tree of one of the first wizarding families. Looking at the rest, she noticed that they were the same. She gasped. She had the family history of all 7 original wizarding families, and their descendants.

At the opposite end of the hall was a moving spiral staircase. Hermione stepped on, and was taken up to the next storey. She stepped off the staircase into what seemed to be a library. There were two storey tall arched windows along one wall, and there were shelves and shelves of books along the other three walls. There was also a fireplace, with a few more comfy armchairs and a coffee table. Just to the right of this there was another door. Through this was her bedroom. Again, everything was in white, giving her the choice of color. This time she didn't have to think very hard about it. As everything was modern, she did mainly the same thing as the common room, but this time the walls were a kelly green, and the couch and chairs stayed white, with black throw pillows. The bed had black and silver silk bedding, and thousands of green and white pillows. If she didn't know better, she would have said it looked almost… Slytherin. But she did know better.

There was a mirrored wall opposite the windows, and on the adjacent wall, hung huge swabs of delicate black and silver silk. Behind this lay a hallway, leading into a huge bathroom, with a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, and a luxurious shower that mimicked rainfall. The hallway also lead to Hermione's own personal gym, which she was very happy for. Boy was it nice to live like royalty.

.:.:..:.:.:.

Hermione smiled, remembering how Blaise had asked her for advice on how to decorate his room, and she had refused. Just recently, he had invited her to look around in his rooms, and she had noticed some huge differences. For one, his reception area was smaller, without the family trees, and there was no spiral staircase, instead there was a huge windowed hallway that was two storeys tall. This hallway branched off into a gym, a bathroom, and a potions lab, complete with cauldrons, stirring rods, and a fully stocked ingredients cupboard. When Hermione went into his bedroom, to many protests from him, she saw that it was decorated in red and gold. When she turned to ask him he just blushed.

He was going to come see her rooms today, she just remembered. As she sat there waiting for him to get there, she wondered how the hell this ever happened to her. Who would've pictured the Gryffindor Princess being friendly with one of the Slytherin Princes.

--

A/N: There you go, guys. Finally a full-sized chapter. I am still looking for a beta, so if any of you want to help, my email address is .ca.

Thanks guys! And please remember that little button that says review.

Love you guys

MissCaralynneMalfoy


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, I'm back. Like 15 minutes after posting the last chapter, I know. Efficient, right? Well I'm sure you guys just want to read my story, and not my ramblings, so here you go.

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"Hey Mia, we never see you anymore, come sit with us today," Cara said as Hermione walked to the head of the Gryffindor table. "It's not like you have to sit up there all the time, Blaise doesn't when you're not here…" Hermione nodded and sat down with her friends.

Hermione sat down in the spot that Cara and Ron had created for her. It was true, she had barely seen or spoken to any of her friends since the first few days, and they were a good two weeks into school now. She looked around, noticing that there were many changes. Ron looked at her differently, as if he had finally let her go, and now he seemed happier. Ginny looked, well, the same as she had before, if not worse. Hermione mentally berated herself. She was supposed to have spoken to her weeks ago about the Harry situation. Thinking of that, she looked over, and saw that Harry and Cara were getting along wonderfully.

Hermione had always known that Cara was basically in love with her best friend, but she had always thought that Harry would end up with Ginny. However, seeing her cousin interact with him, she thought that she might have to change her mind. They were absolutely adorable together, too, which was always a plus.

"So, how is it living with a snake? Is he alright?" asked Harry, smiling at Cara as she laughed at something Lavender said. Hermione thought about it for a second. How was it living with a Slytherin? She had never really thought of Blaise as a snake after the first day of school. They were getting along famously, and Blaise was swiftly becoming one of her best friends. But was is safe to announce that in front of all these people?

"Well, it's nice, actually. He's considerate, smart, and never does anything remotely Slytherin-like… to be honest, I had rather forgotten that he was a part of that awful house." Hermione admitted to her friend, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Yeah, well I think that the Slytherin house is actually changing quite a bit, Mi, so I'm not that surprised." Hermione's head snapped up, and she caught Harry's gaze, suddenly remembering that she had never spoken to him about the Malfoy thing. She immediately made sure she would put it on her things to do list. Hell, she might as well get it over with sooner rather than later.

"Actually, Harry, do you think we could have a chat for a quick second?" She asked, realizing that she could also talk to him about Cara and Ginny. He looked up from his meal and nodded, turning to Cara and whispering something in her ear. She nodded, and turned to her cousin, wrapping her in a big hug. "Well, cuz, I guess I'll have to wait until later to catch up to you. And I guess I better get back over to my table, the others don't really like it when I'm gone too long," she laughed, getting up and walking back over to the Slytherin table. Hermione sighed, remembering that Cara was Slytherin royalty now. She had totally forgotten, just as she had forgotten many things since her arrival to the school.

Harry stood up, and as Hermione stood, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the Great Hall. "Where do you want to talk about this? We shouldn't really do it out here in the open, it isn't something that should be overheard…" Harry looked around, trying to think of the closest secret room from the Marauder's Map.

Hermione made up her mind, and dragged him to the tapestry across the hall. "What's this, Hermione?" Harry asked, trying to think of what was behind the tapestry.

"Well, I thought that maybe this was as good a time as any to show you to my room," Hermione said, trying to remember why none of her friends had seen it yet. She said the password, and led Harry into the common room. "Wow, Mi. This place is amazing, no wonder we never see you anymore," he said, laughing. Then he looked around, "but what if Zabini walks in? I don't know if this is something even Draco's best mate should hear us talking about…"

Hermione agreed, and led him to the door, putting her hand on the pad. Since the first night, she had deduced that it read the witch or wizard's magical signature. The door opened, and she led Harry inside. "We can either sit in here, or we can go to my actual rooms." Hermione said, gesturing to the reception area. She looked over at Harry, and noticed that he was looking around, slack jawed. "Wow, this is amazing… I've never seen anything like this before," Harry said.

"Wait until you see the actual rooms," Harmione muttered under her breath. "C'mon, I'll give you a tour." Harry followed her up the staircase and into the library, whistling under his breath.

A good hour and at least 100 'wow's later, Harry and Hermione had finished the tour, and they sat in Hermione's room, catching up. With the mention of her cousin, Hermione immediately remembered why they were there. "Speaking of Cara, Harry, we need to talk." Harry looked up at her, with understanding green eyes.

"We're just friends, Herms. We're not anything more." He tried to reassure her, but that just served to make her grimace. "I don't think that Ginny sees that, Harry. When you two were 'just friends,' you were never acting like that with her. I don't even think that you were like that with her when you two were dating, to be quite honest." Harry winced.

"I guess not. I never thought of it that way, I just feel so much more comfortable when I'm around Cara than when I'm with Ginny. With Ginny, I feel like I can't disappoint her, and when I'm with Cara, I just don't want to. It's hard to explain," he said, looking up at her with a pleading look. "Well, either way, I want you to talk to both Ginny and Cara about it," seeing the panicked expression on his face, she reassured him, "not at the same time, Harry. I just need you and Cara to talk about what your relationship is, and try to talk to Ginny about the way you feel. I just need to talk to her first," she said, adding the last bit under her breath to herself.

"Now for why we're really here," Hermione said, predicting the look on Harry's face, "We need to talk about Malfoy." Harry looked at her, resigned.

"Well, where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning would probably be best," Hermione said, stating the obvious.

Harry started, "Alright, well, as you know, Dumbledore and I defeated Voldemort last year, but what you didn't know was that we had some huge help. Draco came to us, asking for protection, and offering his help. He told us that Voldemort was planning something big, but he didn't know what it was. He had gotten the Dark Mark, but it was something that he had been forced into by the Dark Lord. His family was threatened, and Draco just couldn't let them die because of him." Hermione nodded, signaling him to continue.

"Well, we talked for a long time about why we should trust him, and there were many things said in that meeting, things that I promised him would never leave the room, and I don't break promises. The things he said, however, made both me and Dumbledore rethink our feelings about him." Harry sighed, and rubbed his face, before dragging his hands through his unruly hair, and continuing.

"Draco spent a lot of time with Dumbledore, and while I don't know why, I know that they became very close. When Dumbledore died, Draco took it pretty hard, and he really blamed it in himself. See, When they got closer, Draco took it upon himself to keep Dumbledore safe, in return for trusting him. In the final battle, as you know, Dumbledore took on Voldemort, one on one, to weaken him for me. The thing is, Draco had done everything possible to keep him from doing it. Dumbledore has his ways, however, and he managed to slip from under Draco's watchful eye." Harry winced, remembering the night, and how Dumbledore had given up his life for the cause. Hermione, seeing this, reached over, and rubbed his shoulder, urging him on.

"Well, after it came out that Draco was helping us, he didn't want to go back home, for obvious reasons. He ended up spending the summer at Headquarters with us, and I guess sharing close quarters with him like that just made us more… friendly than before, I guess." At the odd look from Hermione, Harry quickly confirmed, "Oh, we're not friends or anything, Merlin, Herms. Me and Draco are never really going to be friends, I think."

Hermione nodded, and glanced at the time. "Oh, Morgana, we have class in 10 minutes! Where are you going? We can walk there together, if they're close enough. I have Advanced Potions." Hermione rambled, while Harry stood there, looking at her with a semi-amused look on his face.

"Mia, we have Potions together. We have had Potions together all year." Hermione suddenly froze, and Harry could almost see her brain working overtime behind her pretty golden eyes.

"Oh my god, Harry, I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice, I've been so wrapped up in my work… I feel horrible! We really need to see more of each other, don't we?" Hermione was almost in tears, so Harry wrapped his arms around her, and reassured her.

"Mi, it's alright. We all know you have a lot on your platter this year, just try to make some time for us too, yeah?" She nodded, and gathered up her books and bag, leading Harry back to the door.

"I'm going to have to make up a map for this place, Mia, I have no idea where we're going, and we just came this same way. Your rooms are just too big… I'm kind of jealous, though." The famous half smile found its place on his face, and Hermione couldn't help but to laugh along with him. She wondered why she hadn't been seeing her friends recently, they were all so amazing.

---

When they got to Potions, Hermione immediately noticed Draco sitting alone, looking sad and small, every so often glancing over at Harry. When Harry looked up and saw him, he smiled a small, reassuring smile, and Hermione could see the pain behind Draco's eyes. Suddenly, as she was contemplating this humanness, his eyes met hers, and she quickly looked away, ashamed. When she looked up again, she saw him glance back down to his paper, and then, while it was so quick, she might have imagined it, a single tear dropped to his page. Finding she could no longer look, Hermione went back to focusing on her assignment.

All too soon, it seemed that Snape was telling them to clean up their supplies, and that they had 5 minutes left in the class. Hermione was left wondering where the time was disappearing to. It seemed as though her life was speeding by at a million miles a minute, and she didn't know what to do.

Lost in her thoughts, she was startled when Blaise put his hand on her shoulder, to tell her that they had to go to their next class. Smiling, she nodded at him, and let her legs take her along the path that they knew very well by now.

---

For the next few days, Hermione found herself getting lost in thought more and more often, and she was quickly realizing that her life was passing her by, and she wasn't doing much more than school work.

This weekend was a Hogsmead weekend, so she had made plans with her friends and Blaise, who she now counted as a friend, to go out to lunch, and then shopping.

That day, in Potions, she and Draco locked eyes again, but this time, neither of them looked away, and she could read all his emotions, just as he could hers, and she felt as though there was now a bond between them. She just knew that he understood her feelings, and she knew that he felt the same.

When class was done, she was still lost in thought, so she again just let her legs lead her. She was walking along the corridor, lost in thought, when she noticed that she wasn't going the right way. She actually had no idea where she was at all.

She decided that it would be best to just keep walking, she would probably just find something she recognized as she kept going, and she would be able to get to her next class. After a few more minutes of walking, she realized that she was probably late for her class anyways, so she just kept going, now curious to see where this hallway led her.

Eventually she came upon a tiny room, with nothing but a staircase in it, leading up as far as she could see. Being who she was, she was naturally curious, so she started up the stairs, jumping when they started moving upwards. After a good long ride, the stairs stopped, and she wandered off into a room full of windows. There was a balcony along the outside of the circular room, and she realized that this was one of the many towers of Hogwarts.

Turning in a full circle, she took in her surroundings, amazed that she had never heard of this place before. The walls were a beautiful light aqua blue, and the entire room had a light, airy feeling. There were chairs set up in a circle, around a small table, and there were books everywhere, suggesting that this room was being used by somebody.

She stepped out onto the balcony, and looked over the stone ledge, so see how far up she really was. She let out a gasp, feeling dizzy from the height. She could see the entire school from here. "Amazing," she breathed, feeling her lungs fill up with the fresh, cool air.

"It really is, isn't it?" Hermione jumped, but relaxed when she recognized the voice almost immediately. "Of course this would be your little hideaway, wouldn't it, Blaise?" she smiled, and turned to him, laughing at him when he stuck out his tongue at her.

"Actually, it was Drake that showed this to me, this year. He said that someone very important had told him about it, and he needed to find it. Didn't tell me who it was though… I had a feeling it was Snape, because they were so close, and all, but they don't seem to be on very good terms, lately. Wonder why that is…" he trailed off, obviously thinking about the final battle, and all the lives that had been lost.

She sighed, knowing who it was, and turned back to Blaise. "I know about the Dumbledore thing, Blay. Harry told me, because Draco approached me this summer, and said some things that confused me a bit."

Blaise looked at her, surprised. "Yeah, he had talked about it with me, but I wasn't aware that he actually grew some balls and did it. I hope you weren't too hard on him, 'Mione, that was really hard for him. He's not really the confident, outspoken jerk you know him to be." Hermione winced, and told Blaise about Cara slapping him, after his speech. "I was just too shocked to say anything, you know? I didn't stop to think about what it meant to him."

Blaise just rolled his eyes. "Of course she would. She's a funny girl, your cousin. I wonder where she gets it," he said, staring pointedly at her. She just laughed and punched him in the arm. "Oh, come off it, Blay. You're not too sane yourself. I'll talk to Draco soon though, I promise." Blaise nodded, and turned her around, wrapping his arms around her waist, nodding towards the sunset, and whispering softly in her ear.

"This is why I come up here. This is the best view of the sunset I have ever seen, and it's even better with company." Hermione craned her neck to see his face, and he smiled at her, kissing her forehead, then her nose. She smiled, and leaned further back into him.

"I have grown to be quite protective of you recently, my dear Mia. Don't let anything happen to you, you hear?" Hermione nodded, closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being up that high, the fading sunset in the distance, and a warm body behind her.

"I am very fond of you," he said, holding her tighter.

Hermione opened her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the cool air cleanse her senses, and carry her worries on the breeze. She smelled Blaise, spicy and manly, and the incoming storm from behind them. All of a sudden, there was deep, rumbling thunder, and it started to rain. Blaise picked her up, and carried her inside bridal style, with her laughing all the way. Putting her down, Blaise smiled, and lead her towards the stairs. "It's dinner time, little girl, now we better hurry up and change you into something dry before you get sick." She stuck out her tongue at him, and he grabbed it, laughing and pulling her away from the pretty room.

She would definitely have to come back here.

A/N: Don't you worry, my dear readers, this story still has a while to go, and much character development yet to happen. Also, I am very sorry that it is taking me so long to post new chapters, but I do have school, and I do have a life, although it may not seem like it.

I do, however, love all of you, and your support in this. ^ _ ^

You guys are great.

Thanks to inadaze22 for inspiring me to consider much more character development and relationship development in Dramione stories. You are an amazing writer, and I can only hope to someday have your level of writing ability.

Also, I am going to try out a new method of posting. I'm going to write a lot, then post them on regular intervals. I'll explain more later, but for now, this is going to be the last chapter for a while.

Please, please, please (I cannot beg enough) use that little button down there that says review!!

Cari


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys, as stated in the last chapter, I have decided on a new way of posting chapters. I will write all the chapters I can at once, and I will post one chapter every 2 days unless I have less than 5 chapters to go. This is mostly for you guys, so that you're not getting like, 5 chapters at once, then no chapters for a few months. I'm sure you'll understand where I'm coming from here. But anyways, enough of my talking to myself. You probably all want to read the story, not my ramblings.

Disclaimer: (Because I've forgotten it for a while) I do not make any profit for the writing of this story, I'm just doing it for pleasure, both mine, and yours (hopefully). J.K Rowling owns all of these characters, except for those of my own creation, such as Cara. I have also butchered some personalities so that this may work more in my favor.

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As the days passed, Hermione visited the tower more and more, both with people and alone. She had never, however, seen Draco on any of these little trips. Soon the table had become crowded with her books, as well as the ones that had already been there, and she had changed the layout a bit. There was another loveseat, and Hermione had spelled the tower for internet access on her charmed laptop, so that she could communicate with family and friends outside of school easier. After having carried it up and down the stairs so many times, Hermione now just left it there.

One day, she went to visit the room, and all the books had been organized, including hers. Now there were two small bookcases, one with all of Hermione's books, and one with the other's. Hers were organized by author's name and date, and she wasn't nosy enough to check the other's. She wondered who it was, but didn't dwell on it very long. It didn't matter who it was, they both shared the pleasures of the room, and they hadn't bothered her in any way. There was also a smaller table over near her loveseat now, with her laptop sitting on it.

She went over to turn it on, and noticed a small note sitting next to the computer. In a neat, curling script was written a nice little hello.

_Hello, Stranger,_

_I have recently noticed that we have been sharing this room more often. I took the liberty of organizing our books, so that it might be easier for the both of us to stay neat. I hope that I have not offended you in any way by assuming that this might be something you'd enjoy, but at the same time, I happen to enjoy a clean space. _

_I hope that we might be able to be friendly should we ever be here at the same time. _

_Thank you,_

_A friend_

Hermione thought that it was very nice of this stranger to have done that, and to have left a note, in case she had not appreciated the organization of the room. She read the note again, trying to think of people that might have done something like that, and she couldn't think of a name.

All of a sudden, she heard the stairway rumble, and looking over her shoulder, she saw it start to rise. She turned back around, and started up her computer. Nobody who knew of this place would be of any harm to her. She felt eyes on her, and turned to see who was there, but only saw a flash of green and silver, a retreating back of some stranger. She wondered who it was, and why they did not want to see her there, so she stood to look down the stairs. There was nobody there, but they had left one thing. A red and gold scarf was lying on the stairs, mocking her. She could have sworn she had seen green, not red, but she decided it would not do her any good to dwell on it, and went back to her work.

She wrote her parents a nice letter, letting them know that she and Cara were doing alright, and telling them all about her newest discovery; the aqua tower where she was currently sitting. She also told them that she had befriended a Slyth, and that they weren't all bad. She knew that they were aware of the fact that Cara had been sorted into that house, and that they had been worried, as the only things they had ever heard of the Slytherin house were the stories of Draco Malfoy and his group of buffoons.

She knew that they would be glad Cara was doing so well, and that she was finding a place in the Hogwarts society, after having come in as a 7th year. She didn't tell them, however, that she had been so consumed in her work that she had almost forgotten about her friends.

After finishing the letter, she felt much better, as if she had just had a good long chat with an old friend. She wished she could tell her parents about her feelings on everything that was happening around her, but she felt that it would overwhelm her mother, and knew that her father would see her feelings on paper, and just skip over it to the end.

With that thought in mind, she decided that she would start a journal. She opened a new document, and sat there for 5 minutes just staring at the screen, not knowing where to start. She looked down at the note, and suddenly had an idea. She summoned a piece of parchment and a quill, and started to write.

_Dear Friend, _

_Thank you for your letter. I really appreciate that you organized this room, as it is too beautiful to be left in the state of disarray that we had previous been leaving it in. I am, myself a lover of good literature, as you probably noticed when you were organizing my books, were it not done by magic, and I can see, by browsing the names on the books in your shelf that we have that in common. I hope that this was not an invasion of your privacy, but I just felt a need to know more about the person with which I share this space. _

_I am writing, both to thank you for your time, and to ask something of you. I have recently found myself looking for a way to get this perpetual weight off of my shoulders. I might know you, I might not, but I feel that this might become a way of making a good friend. If this is to work, I might feel better that we don't see each other, and that we don't talk, if we should. I would like it if I might be able to write you about the goings-on of my life, and the things that cause me stress or pain. I hope that you do not feel that I am asking too much of you, as a stranger, but it is something that I need to do. _

_If you like, I could tell you who I am, or not, if that is what you prefer. I hope that this becomes a good friendship, although we shall not see each other to communicate, but I feel that writing a letter such as this brings a sense of privacy, no matter the things written within. _

_Thank you again, _

_Stranger_

She read it over, looking for any errors, before deciding that it was good enough, and set it down on the table, closing her laptop and gathering her things. With one last glance to see if she left anything, she stood and walked down the stairs, gathering up the forgotten scarf as she went, and stuffing it in her bag.

As she walked out the door, she bumped into Blaise, who smiled at her. "There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere, and this place almost slipped my mind completely. I didn't know you came here so much." He cocked his head to the side as he spoke, and she couldn't help but smile; he looked a bit like a puppy dog.

"Yeah, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite places, because there's rarely anyone there. I've hooked it up for my laptop and everything." She smiled as Blaise rolled his eyes. "You muggle borns are funny things. All your technology and whatnot." She laughed.

"Oh Blay, I'll show you why I love it so much one day. You won't believe your eyes when you see what it does, you'll think it's magic, or something," she said jokingly. He lightly hit her in the shoulder, and she scrunched up her nose at him, and stuck out her tongue.

"Well I came to tell you that we have a meeting with the headmistress about Head duties. We better get going." She nodded, and smirked at him. "Bet you can't beat me there!"

She took off running, smiling as she heard Blaise sigh and take up chase. They ran through the halls of the school, Blaise doing everything he could to slow her down, and her laughing at his attempts. Soon they were in front of the hunchbacked gargoyles, gripping their sides, doubled over in laughter.

Suddenly, they straightened, and realized that they didn't know the password. Hermione went up to the gargoyle, and tried to get it to move. "Um, we need to get up to see the headmistress, but we don't know the password. Could you please move? Please?" She nearly screamed in frustration when the gargoyle stayed as still and dead as ever.

"There you two are! Where in the world have you been?" Hermione's head shot up, and she met the eyes of her head of house, and the headmistress of the school. She looked away, sheepishly, and scuffed the toe of her shoe on the floor. "Well, you see, I was um, studying in, um, my room, and Blaise had a bit of trouble getting into my rooms, see…" she trailed off when McGonagall sent her a tight lipped glare. "I don't really care, there are matters that need attending to." She turned, and said "Huffleclaw Slythindor". The stone gargoyle immediately sprung to life, revealing the moving staircase, and granting them access to the headmistress's office.

They sat down in the two chairs seated in front of Minerva's desk, nodding at Dumbledore's portrait behind it. The headmistress then sat down, and began telling them of an upcoming event, which required the planning of a ball. With that, Hermione's heart sank. It had been hard enough getting a dance to the last ball, and she had an admirer from a different school there. Now there was nobody. All her friends would probably have dates, they were all popular and good looking. She didn't want to be the tag-along party-pooper that she always was.

"Hermione, are you listening to me at all?" Minerva was glaring at her, having noticed her space out, staring into space. Hermione had the good grace to look sheepish, and shook her head. 'Sorry, headmistress, I just have a lot on my mind. What was it?"

McGonagall shook her head, and repeated herself for her favorite student. "I was just saying that you two, as the Heads, have a responsibility first to the school, so you will not be requiring dates. If you wish, you may go together, but not with anyone else, because you must be paying the most attention to the event, not your dates." Hermione sighed with relief.

McGonagall then told them that they had a month and a half to organize the ball, and that the faculty would take care of the actual event. They weren't told anything other than the fact that the theme of the dance had to be in some way muggle related. At that, Hermione could swear that she heard Blaise huff in irritation, and had to try really hard to repress the giggle that was threatening to come to the surface.

---

That night at dinner, Hermione was hard pressed to keep the ball a secret from all her friends, but the headmistress had asked specifically that nobody except them know about it until it was announced. She looked around at the table, noticing that everyone seemed perfectly happy, well, everybody except one red-haired girl. Ginny was sitting apart from the group, all alone, picking at the little amount of food that was on her plate, and obviously trying to look anywhere but at her friends. Specifically, one Harry Potter.

Hermione excused herself, picked up her plate, and moved to sit with her younger friend, who she thought of as more of a sister. "Hey Gin, what's up? Did you want to have that talk tonight? I've been aching to have some girl time recently, and I can get permission for you to stay for a sleepover in my rooms tonight, I mean, tomorrow is the weekend, and there are no classes…" Ginny perked up immediately, and she nodded vigorously, a small grin making its way onto her face. "I've been aching for any human contact at all, recently. It seems that with the arrival of a new person, everyone except you and Dr-, well, you, have forgotten about me." She then lowered her voice to a whisper, "I have a little secret that I want to share with you later, too." Hermione smiled, and seeing that Ginny was finished, stood up.

"Hey, did you want to come to my rooms right now? I can get one of the house-elves to get your nightclothes and stuff. I can't believe that you haven't been over yet." Ginny giggled and nodded. "I can't believe that I don't even know where your rooms are, I mean, I thought we were best friends, Hermione, how could you do that to me?" Hermione looked up sharply, surprised that Ginny would say something like that, and laughed when she realized she was joking. She grabbed Ginny's hand, and led her over to the rest of the group.

"Hey, guys, me and Gin are going to have a girl's night. We'll see you later, yeah?" Everyone looked up from their meals, giving both girls big hugs. Ginny looked positively giddy with the attention. Unbeknownst to Hermione, Ginny glanced quickly over to the Slythering table, and when he nodded at her, she smiled, in way of a thank you.

Hermione and Ginny walked out the doors of the Great Hall, and over to the tapestry across the hall. When they went inside, Ginny had much the same reaction as Harry did, but she asked way more questions. She wanted to know who chose the colours, and when Hermione told her, she got much praise as a response.

They spent most of the first hour just wandering around, Ginny marveling at the wonderful rooms, and Hermione answering her numerous questions. When they finally made themselves comfortable, Hermione noticed that Ginny was doing everything possible to avoid the subject that they had come there to speak about. Finally, she cut to the chase.

"Gin, I know you'd rather not talk about it, but we came here so that I might be able to help you with your Harry issue, and I'd feel horrible if I couldn't do anything about this." Ginny winced, and lay back on the bed, sinking into the many pillows and covers. "Well the thing is, we've kind of already talked about it; me and him, I mean. He told me that he had talked to you about it, and that talking to someone made him realize some things. I'm not really that upset about it anymore, there's something else…" Hermione looked at her, questioningly.

"Well, I was nearing depression at the beginning, but then I met someone who talked me through a lot of the things that I was convinced he was doing to me." Seeing Hermione's look of confusion, she elaborated, " Well, as you can probably imagine, when everything started going downhill, I found myself concocting conspiracy theories. I would have a bad day, and immediately it was because something he had done. But when I met this guy, everything stopped. At first it was just because I could never imaging in a thousand years that he would care, or that we would become friends. But after a few weeks, I stopped doubting our relationship, and realized that I was forgetting about Harry, not because of shock, but because I had an amazing friend who was always there." Seeing the hurt look on her friend's face, she quickly went on, "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I know that you've been beyond busy recently, but he was always there, whenever anything went wrong, I always knew that he would be somewhere close by in a matter of minutes. I don't know how he knew, but he did."

Hermione nodded, trying to get her friend to elaborate, wanting, no, needing a name. She wanted to talk to this person, to thank them for helping Ginny so much. However, she wasn't sure if this was overstepping boundaries. This person didn't need a thanks. If they were as close as Ginny was saying, they already knew how what they were doing was helping them.

Ginny sighed heavily. "We talk a lot, 'Mia, and he was telling me about his past. I don't want to tell you who it is, but I can tell you that it's someone we used to hate with a passion. After hearing all this about his life, I feel horrible. We made his life just that little bit worse." Hermione took a guess at the name, with an odd feeling in her stomach.

"It's Malfoy, isn't it?" at Ginny's slow nodding, Hermione continued. "If you're worried about it because of what Harry might think of you, because he hates Malfoy, I think you have a bit of a surprise in store. When I was talking to Harry, it was more about Draco than you and he." Ginny's eyes widened, and Hermione continued.

"Harry and Malfoy spent most of the summer together. I'm sure he told you about the Dumbledore thing?" Ginny nodded, still seemingly shocked. "Well after that, he and Harry got used to each other. Harry does say that they probably won't ever be friends, but I think they're well on the road to reconciliation."

Ginny finally seemed to relax. "Oh thank Merlin. I was so worried that if Harry found out, he'd shoot me. Draco's done so much for me in the past few months… I don't think I can imagine not having him there for me…" Hermione nodded, she felt as though she was getting to that point with Blaise. They spent so much time together, and they talked about everything that worried them, and helped each other through every little thing that went wrong.

The girls spent the next few hours gossiping, and talking about their respective Slytherins. Hermione found herself liking this new Draco, and she saw that Ginny was growing more and more curious about Blaise. He was Draco's best friend, after all. After talking for a long time, they started to run out of things to go on about. They were lying on the bed, trying to think of things to do, when Ginny got a worrisome look on her face.

"Hey Herms, I have an idea. I'll be right back." She ran off, leaving Hermione alone in her room. Suddenly she stuck her head back in the room, and told her not to move. A few minutes later she bolted in the door, panting, and carrying a bag.

"I brought my clothes, so you don't have to get an elf anymore… But I brought a little something extra." Saying that, she a multitude of shrunken bottles out of the bag, and enlarged them. There was elfin wine and firewhiskey, and a variety of other alcoholic beverages that Hermione was sure were muggle inventions.

"I was thinking that we might be able to play a drinking game or something, just get really drunk and forget about all our worries. We can sleep in tomorrow, and it'll be fun! I've never been drunk with you, but I know you've done it, Cara's told us stories…" Hermione rolled her eyes, making a mental note to kill her cousin later.

Hermione sighed, and nodded. "Alright. What did you want to play?" Ginny's eyes took on a scary glint, and Hermione had the sudden urge to turn and run. Very, very far away. "Weeeell… I was thinking that maybe we could get a few more people to join in… I know for a fact that Draco's hanging out with Blaise tonight… Wanna see if they're here? Maybe we can get them to join…" Hermione rolled her eyes. She should have seen this coming as soon as Ginny pulled those bottles out of the bag.

Again, she sighed, and stood. "Alright, but just this once, Gin. You just sit here, and set up whatever game it is we're playing. Just call for a house elf if you need one, they'll come. I'll go get our Slyths." With that, she turned, and walked out the door. A few moments, she turned back around, and stuck her head in the door way, finding a guilty Ginny looking through the drawers in her nightstand. "Oh, and Ginny, don't go looking for a diary, I don't keep one." Ginny blushed, and Hermione laughed, walking away.

When she reached the door to Blaise's rooms, she suddenly had a feeling of apprehension. She reminded herself that she was a Gryffindor, she could handle one night of drinking with two really, really sexy Slytherin boys… And she knocked heavily on the door. When nobody answered, she went to turn around, and tell Ginny the "sad" news, but found her eyes covered by two strong hands.

"What are you looking for, dearest Granger? Certainly not little ol' me?" Blaise laughed, and Hermione punched him playfully. When he lifted his hand from her eyes, and turned her around for a hug, she ducked her head around his broad shoulders, and saw Malfoy standing there, wide-eyed, and apparently speechless. "Well, me and Ginny were wondering if you two maybe wanted to hang out?" At Draco's shocked face, she reassured him. "Oh, I forced it out of Ginny. Don't worry, nobody else knows." He relaxed, and tried to smile. "Uh, yeah. Sure." He looked over to Blaise for confirmation, and when he nodded, she smiled. "Great. Alright, just follow me, then."

Draco, it turned out, was just as amazed by her rooms as anyone else, and it seemed as though he found more of an interest in the tapestries in the entrance than anybody before him. When they walked into Hermione's room, they found Ginny sitting on the bed, 8 shot glasses full of some kind of liquor in front of her, on a small lap table. Hermione rolled her eyes, and summoned a two more chairs and a small table. She set the drinks down on the table, and put the bottles underneath it. They each took a seat in one of the chairs, Ginny still on the bed.

"I thought that we could play the game 'Never Have I Ever'. I hope none of you have any objections?" The boys looked surprised that Hermione would be partaking in such an activity, but they smiled, and shook their heads. The game had begun.

A/N: I hope you guys have liked the story so far, and also appreciate that I am trying to make the chapters as long as possible, for your reading enjoyment. Please keep in mind that the days and weeks are speeding by, so it is possible in theory that Draco and Ginny have been friends for months.

Well, I hope that this story does not get too predictable, and that I am not using too many clichés… but these stories aren't planned out, they just kind of sprout from my brain as I go. I don't know how any of my chapters are going to end, I just write until a point where I feel it is alright to finish it, and then I move onto the next one.

Who is this stranger from the tower? What sorts of things are going to be discovered when the bottles are opened? Well you're just going to have to read to see, aren't you?

Love to you all,

Cari


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys, I know you haven't heard from in a while, but that's just cause of the new posting system I'm using. Hope it didn't bother you too much. I haven't been getting many reviews though, and I was wondering why that is… If you want this story to get better, you're going to have to spend that 60 seconds typing out a few words, telling me what I could fix and such.

And just as a warning, this chapter begins a bit of a descent into darker subject matter, and there is drug use, so if you're not comfortable, umm… Just don't read this, I guess.

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The four teenaged witches and wizards sat around a small table, all looking at each other awkwardly, not knowing where to start. "Um, maybe we should just drink a bit before we start?" Everybody raised their eyebrows at the speaker. Hermione blushed. "Well, I just thought… We're not really getting anywhere with this, so if our inhibitions were lowered just a bit at the beginning…" Ginny nodded.

Drinks were poured, and all four of them sipped them silently, a bit of small talk in between sips. Pretty soon, people were talking more openly, and everyone was loosening up. Pretty soon, the game was forgotten, everybody chatting about school and how they liked all their classes and professors.

All of a sudden, Hermione shot up in her seat, and grabbed one of the long-forgotten shot glasses off the table. "Never have I ever had a crush on a Slytherin." Everybody looked up in surprise as she downed the liquor. Blaise smiled, and downed his shot next. Then Ginny poured the vodka down her throat, leaving Draco as the only one who hadn't taken a shot. Hermione raised an eyebrow, and he just looked at her, shaking his head, a sideways smile gracing his pretty face.

"Never have I ever thought I was in love with a Gryff." Hermione's eyes widened as Draco was the first to pour the clear alcohol down his throat. He shook his head, as if to clear it. "Oh. Wow. That's some pretty good stuff, what is it?" "Vodka. It's a muggle drink." He laughed, "Of course." Ginny reached over to the next bottle, and poured it into the three empty shot glasses. She picked hers up, and tossed back the bright blue liquid. Blaise followed soon after, and this time, Hermione was the only one to have liquor left in her glass. "Ron?" Ginny asked her. Hermione just shook her head. "Never. He thought he loved me, not the other way around. I love him as a brother, not in the way Malfoy meant." Draco looked at her, with an almost sad expression on his face. "It's Draco, not Malfoy. Draco." The words were so quiet, Hermione hardly heard them, but they did reach her ears. She looked up at him, and smiled softly. "I'm sorry, Draco." The half-smile fond his face yet again, and Hermione found that it was impossible to keep the responding grin off her face.

"Never have I ever gone to Hogwarts." Everybody rolled their eyes at Blaise. After he finished swallowing the shot, he looked at everybody, who were looking at him incredulously. "What? I'm just trying to get us all drunk." They laughed. The next few statements were the same in nature, and soon enough, they were all fairly tipsy. "Never have I ever fantasized about Draco Malfoy." When they looked at her, Ginny blushed. Then she drank her shot. Draco fluttered his eyelashes at her jokingly. Ginny's face matched the colour of her hair, and everybody else laughed, until Hermione downed her shot too. Then Draco's eyebrows shot up. Hermione blushed prettily, and Draco smiled at her. Then he drank, and there was uproarious laughter. "What? I'm too perfect NOT to fantasize about." The girls rolled their eyes, and Blaise and Draco high-fived.

Hermione and Blaise locked eyes, and she didn't like the glint she saw in his. "Never have I ever wanted to fuck Hermione Granger." He and Draco drank at the same time, and Hermione was immediately mortified. Questions continued in this fashion, and pretty soon, heated glances were being thrown around the room. Hermione's vision was blurry, and she had tingles in her belly from the glances that Blaise and Draco were shooting her every so often. "Drake, I dare you to kiss Hermione." Blaise glared at Ginny, and she just smiled sweetly. Draco looked at her, eyes wide, then his eyes were trained on Hermione's face. The butterflies were flapping faster than they had before, and she felt a pressure between her legs. Draco stood up, and fell back into the chair, holding his head. "I am really drunk." He slurred, and everyone laughed. He tried again, and this time his legs managed to support his drunken body. Slowly, he teetered over to where Hermione was sitting, on the other side of the table, between Blaise and Ginny.

When he bent down, she could smell the bitterly sweet scent of the liquor on his breath. And then his lips met hers, and her eyes closed, lost in the taste of him. His tongue brushed her closed lips, and they opened instinctively, her tongue reaching out to meet his. His hands sunk into her hair as hers rested on his shoulders, simultaneously pulling him in, and pushing him away. She opened her eyes to look at his face, and she was immediately fixed on his gaze. Silver eyes, darkened with his passion, she found she couldn't look away. Her fingers found his silky, perfect hair, and her hands locked him there. And then he was gone.

Hermione looked up lazily, the dizzying tingles in her abdomen making her vision blurry, and her thoughts slow and languid. Blaise was standing over her, Draco thrown into his chair, the 4 shots sitting on the table spilled on the table. Ginny was looking between the three of them, eyes wide, ramrod straight in her chair, a look of shock on her delicate face. Draco had curled upon himself in his chair, cowering from the fiery anger that was Blaise at that moment. He glanced over at her, and upon seeing her looking at him, quickly turned away. Hermione felt her stomach clench, and she looked up at Blaise instead.

Blaise was the only person remaining standing, and they all had to crane their necks to look at his face. Suddenly, he seemed to collapse back into his chair, and covered his face in his huge hands. Ginny looked at Hermione questioningly. She mouthed words at Hermione that she couldn't make out in her current state.

There was a hideous noise, a low moaning that transformed into a wail. They looked over at Blaise, to find him shaking, tears seeping from between his fingers. Ginny immediately stood, and cast a sobriety charm over the occupants of the room. The sharp stinging tingle cleared Hermione's thoughts immediately, and she helped Ginny move Blaise to the couch, where they sat on either side of him. Hermione rubbed small circles on his back, and murmured soothing words into his ear that meant nothing at all. She looked up at Ginny, who kept glancing over her shoulder at Draco, and motioned for her to go to him. He seemed as if he was in just as bad a state as Blaise, if not worse. His eyes were unblinking, unseeing, and he was trembling, muttering things to himself under hid breath.

Hermione went back to helping Blaise calm down. The mood had been quickly turned from a fun gathering of friends, to the two unlikely pairs of Slytherins and Gryffindors. She didn't know how long they sat there, the girls soothing their Slytherins, the room nearly silent, but for the sound of breathing, and the occasional, muffled sob. After what seemed like hours, and very weel could have been, Blaise got up, and shuffled over to Draco, and knelt in front of him, looking up at his face. Seeing this, Ginny got up, and joined Hermione. They both sat there, feeling funny. It wasn't very often you saw guys get that emotional, and it was ever rarer to see them react to conflict like this.

Draco sat up, and looked down at Blaise. No words were said for minutes, while Draco and Blaise seemed to share words through their eyes and their silence. Draco heaved a heavy sigh, and both girls jumped, as Blaise dropped his chin, and looked down at the floor in front of him. Draco pulled out his wand, and Ginny drew a quick breath. Neither of the boys looked up, seemingly in their own world. Ginny grabbed Hermione by the hand and dragged her out of the room quickly and silently, closing the door softly behind them, and taking out her wand to cast a silencing spell, but she wasn't quick enough, and Hermione jumped at the soul-wrenching scream that came out of the room, before being cut off quickly by the spell. However, the sudden silence wasn't that for Hermione, as it seemed, to her, to echo off the walls, reverberating in her ears.

It seemed that her legs could no longer support her, and as they gave, her back hit the door, and she slid down, eyes wide, breath shallow. She knew that scream. She had heard that scream thousands of times in memories Blaise had given her, given for trust, given to help her understand the life that pureblooded children had led in the war. It was worse than the dreams of her friends dying while she and Harry had been searching for Horcruxes, and it was worse than the knowledge that some of those friends were people she would never see, or hear, or touch again. That was the sound of one of the stronget people she knew in so much pain that they could no longer hold their composure.

The only time she had ever heard Blaise scream like that was when he saw his baby sister killed in front of him. Even then, he had held the pain until he was in a room, silencing spells layered on the walls and door. Even with that immense pain, he had been able to keep his composure for an hour. A full hour of heart-wrenching agony. And that iron willed composure had just been cracked in less than a second. Hermione broke down completely, inhuman, broken sobs and wails coming from her mouth. Ginny just stood there, not knowing what to do, how to fix it.

After trying to talk to her friend, trying to get her off the floor, words falling on deaf ears, she slid down the wall beside her, and pulled Hermione's head into her lap, combing fingers through tangled hair, completely silent. When the sobs finally subsided, Ginny helped her friend to her feet, and led her into the library. Hermione deserved an explanation. She conjured some cushions and a mattress, lying her friend on the mattress, pulling blankets around her, and resting her head on fluffy pillows. Draco and Blaise would be in the room for a while still. She opened her mouth to speak, and looked down at her friend's face. Hermione was fast asleep, lightly snoring. Ginny smiled sadly. If only it was that easy.

She stood, and walked to the balcony at the other end of the room. She conjured a chair, and sat out in the crisp, late autumn air. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of her robes, and lit it with the tip of her wand. As she sat out there, taking drags from the fag, she had a lot of time to reflect on the events of the year so far. It was true, she was gradually getting over Harry, but the still-tender scar on her heart twinged when she saw him with Cara, laughing, and getting on as if they had known each other for years. Cara had changed everything; the dynamic of everyone's friendships, she had upturned Ginny's absolute certainty of the future, and she had changed Hermione. Whether it was for the worse or for the better, she didn't yet know. All she knew was that Hermione seemed obsessed with exercising. If she didn't get in her daily run, she was twitchy and generally uncomfortable-looking all day.

She took another drag, and noticed that the smoke was done. She put it out, and pulled out a small glass pipe, and a small baggie full of a green substance. She emptied the contents of the bag into the bowl of the pipe, and lit it, again with the tip of her wand. She inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in her lungs as long as possible, before letting it trickle out from between her lips. She sat back and let the rich smell of the drug wash over her. She finished that bowl, and packed another, feeling the effects of the first bowl slightly. When she was finished the second bowl, she pulled out another fag, and smoked it, again reflecting on that days events, her drug induced state letting her think things that she normally never would. She thought about Blaise, and at first she was mad at him. Draco had been through hell and back in the past few years, and as his best friend, Blaise should know better than to do that to him. She hated the way she saw Draco cower in that chair, seeing things that weren't really there, scared of his father, who had been dead for a year. She also hated the way that he had kissed Hermione with absolutely no thought, and the obvious passion that had passed between them. Draco was hers, not Hermione's, not anyone else's. He had helped her through many things, and she had helped him through his. Not Blaise, no Hermione, her, Ginny. She also knew of Blaise's feelings for Hermione, so she couldn't really blame him, in his drunken state, he wasn't thinking clearly, and it was highly probable that the only thoughts running through his head at that moment were those that were telling him to get the other guy off his girl. She inhaled deeply again, and leaned back in the chair, looking at the stars.

She was suddenly startled back into consciousness when the door to the balcony shut a bit too hard. She spun in her chair, seeing Blaise stumble, and lean heavily against the stone wall for support. She conjured a chair for him, and stood up to help him sit. "Thank you, Ginny. I don't know how you knew to get her out of there, but I am so glad that you did." Ginny smiled sadly at him, not wanting him to know, but she knew it was necessary. "I didn't get her out quick enough, Blaise. She heard the scream right before I silenced the room. She was in quite a state. She really cares about you, you know?" Blaise winced, then nodded. "That's the kind of person she is. If you earn her trust, if you become her friend, she is the most loyal girl I have ever known. She is really a true Gryff." Ginny narrowed her eyes, and Blaise hastened to reassure her. "I almost wish I was a Gryff for that reason. You're all wonderful people. I don't think I've ever heard of an evil Gryffindor. Slytherin, on the other hand…" He trailed off when she put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

He looked over, and upon seeing the cigarette in her other hand, asked her for one. She pulled out the pack, and took out two. Lighting them both, she sat back, and looked to the east. The sun was just beginning to rise, and she could see her breath in the chilly air. Wondering why she wasn't freezing, she looked down, and noticed that there was a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "You were out here when we came down a few hours ago, and we didn't want to bother you, but when you fell asleep, Draco came out with a blanket, so that you wouldn't freeze. He really cares about you, too. He's been through a lot, I know that, and I am so thankful that he's had you to help him." Ginny nodded.

They sat there in silence a little longer, before Ginny pulled out her pipe, and held it up. "Want some? I think we all just need a bit of relaxing." Blaise nodded, and pulled out his own baggie, filling the pipe, and handing it to Ginny for the first toke. She inhaled the smoke and let the feelings wash over her. Blaise watched her let the smoke trickle out through her lips sensually, and felt the beginnings of an attraction. Mentally, he berated himself. He couldn't go doing this anymore. He had almost beaten up Draco about Hermione. Ginny was Draco's, and he wouldn't let himself get into that. Ginny handed him the pipe, and he did the same, inhaling the smoke, some clean air, and then holding it in his lungs. He blew the smoke slowly through a tiny hole in his lips, and sat back, feeling the high wash through him.

The two of them sat out on the balcony for a while, smoking and learning about each other. They talked of interhouse relations, and what Hogwarts would be like if there wasn't the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Already, they decided, this year was going to be the first step in the right direction.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well here we are, the landmark. This is officially the longest story that I have ever written for other people, and it is quickly becoming the most reflective of my life. I know that it might make this hard for you to read it and understand is completely, but trust. If you were there, just imagine the lengths you'd go to. Of course, I didn't have magic to deal with my issues, like my characters. And with that…

Disclaimer: I really, really wish that I owned these characters, because then I could use them for my own pleasure. (And no, I did not mean it in that way. Well, except for Draco. Oh the things I could do with that boy…) J K Rowling is one lucky woman to be able to call these her own. I also do not make any profit from the writing of these stories, except for a major cure of headaches when the plot bunnies can't jump on pages, and they start tearing at my brains. (Yeah, they're zombie plot bunnies.)

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Hermione woke up when she felt someone pulling a blanket up around her shoulders, and she murmured a small thanks before cracking her eyes open. Draco sat there, eyes haunted, looking down at her. She immediately sat up, and gathered him into her arms.

"Shh, Draco, shh. It's alright, it's alright. Everything will turn out okay. Don't worry." Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and she suppressed the urge to drop her arms and run far, far away. "No, it's not okay! I just… Blaise… I didn't mean… Lucius…" He broke down in shuddering sobs. Hermione tightened her grip on him, and sat there, his head in the crook of her neck, her chin resting on the top of his head, the sound of Draco's pain echoing through the huge library. She lifted her head, noticing that Blaise and Ginny weren't in the room, and looked out onto the balcony. They were sitting there, smoking cigarettes, seemingly in companionable silence. She grimaced inwardly. She knew that Ginny smoked, and that she smoked pot, but she never approved of it.

When Draco's sobbing subsided a few minutes later, he lifted his head, and tried to smile at Hermione. "Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed a good cry." He laughed a small, sobbing laugh, and Hermione knew that everything would be okay. She had never heard Draco Malfoy laugh before. "Well now, I wonder what the students would think if they found out that Draco Malfoy, ferret extraordinaire, needed a good cry every once and a while." She smiled widely at him, then they both broke down into laughter, Hermione's arms still wrapped around him. He turned towards her, and hugged her back. She rested her head against his chest, and heard his heart beating steadily. "Or what Harry and Ron would say if they knew you had a heart, Mr. Ferret." Again, they had a little giggle-fit.

They sat on the conjured mattress for what seemed like hours, talking about each other and themselves. Soon, Hermione learned everything she had ever needed to know about him, and him her. She knew that his favorite colour was not green, and instead preferred purple. At that, she had to laugh. She also found out that while he was good at Quidditch, he preferred running to flying, and that he was still a virgin, even with his title of "Slytherin Sex God". What he learned about her was that she hated the title of "bookworm", she loved to run, hated heights, and had a secret want to be in Slytherin.

They looked out the windows to the east, and saw that the sun was well above the horizon. "Hey, you want to go for a run?" Draco looked up, surprised, then nodded. "I can call the house elves for you, but I just have to run to my room quickly to get changed. "Oh, it's alright, I can call them myself. You just go get ready." Hermione nodded, and walked towards the door. "Meet you back here in 10, kay?" She didn't even bother to look over her shoulder to see his responding nod. He'd be there.

She went through her closet, picking out some black running shorts that clung to her skin, and an olive green tank top that showed off all of her curves. Reaching back to pull her hair up, she suddenly remembered that it was short. She rolled her eyes, and put her heart rate monitor on instead. She pulled a brush through her hair, and preformed straightening and non-frizz cosmetic charms on it, making sure it fell right, before brushig on a layer of mascara. She cast a time charm, and rushed through the rest of her routine when she noticed that she only had one more minute.

When she re-entered the library to meet Draco, she found him standing by the doors to the balcony, talking to Blaise and Ginny. Ginny got up to hug him, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She ducked under his arm, and called to Hermione. "Have fun, and don't let Drake beat you." Hermione looked at Draco with a puzzled expression. They were going to race? Then she smirked. "So you want a race, Draco?" She walked over to the group, the smirk on her face turning into a full blown Malfoy grin, when she saw the expression that came over Draco's face when he saw her confidence level.

Blaise stood up, and came over to her. "Give Draco a good beating, kay, Mia? He needs it." She nodded, and gave her Slyth a light hug. "Well, Drakie-poo, I'm going. If you're going to win this, you better come with." Draco immediately kissed Ginny on the cheek and followed. They walked until they came to the Whomping Willow, and Draco looked up in shock when he heard Ginny and Blaise calling down to them. Ginny conjured a tissue, and put a sonorous spell on her throat. "Alright, Mia and Drake. When this handkerchief hit the ground, you run. It'll be one full circuit around the castle. The first to touch the wall below us wins. She let the handkerchief fall, and the race started. Hermione started off at a normal pace for her, while Draco sprinted. They made it a quarter of the way around the school when Draco started to slow. When he had slowed to a jog, Hermione passed him, and laughed, as he let a low growl through his lips. She kept up her pace until they were half way around the castle, and then slowed, to look behind her, looking for Draco. This part of the grounds was long and flat, with no turns, so she thought that she would be able to see him. She couldn't. She stopped completely, beginning to get worried. All of a sudden, she got tackled to the ground, and whoever it was covered her mouth, so that she couldn't scream. "You shouldn't be so gullible, dearest _Granger_." Recognizing the voice, she turned, and hit him lightly in the shoulder. "And you shouldn't let your guard down just because you're in charge, _Malfoy._" She wrapped her leg around his, and threw him to the ground, straddling him. "Now who's in charge?"

Draco looked up at her, shocked, for a moment, then got a glint in his eyes that worried her. He bucked his hips under hers. His pelvis brushed against something in between her legs that made her whimper. Instinctively, her hips pushed back. Draco's mouth fell open, and he groaned. "Hermione…" She gasped as her arched under her, and her head fell back at the feelings she was experiencing. Suddenly he grabbed her head and pulled her down, their lips brushing lightly at first, and then their kisses became more and more passionate and rushed, as they ground against each other.

Hermione felt something inside her snap, and she couldn't think of anything other than getting Draco's clothes. She pulled at his shirt, and he smiled, yanking it over his head, and tugging at the hem of hers. She pulled it over head, revealing her toned stomach and round breasts. Draco groaned, and ripped her sports bra off her body, smirking when she glared at him.

She leaned down, the twinkle in her eyes matching that of Dumbledore's when he thought that he had an infallible plan. She used her teeth to drag Draco's shorts off his body, smirking when his hips bucked as she dragged her teeth along his length through his boxers. He groaned loudly, and pulled her up to him, kissing her with fervor, and rolling her over, nudging her legs open with a knee, and moving down her body, kissing her breasts. "Granger, you have great tits." Her head hit the ground when his mouth surrounded a nipple, and her pelvis thrust against his knee. One of his hands come up to play with the neglected nipple, and he moved his knee away, teasing her.

Suddenly, she felt cool air against the apex of her thighs, and raised her head to see Draco smirking around her nipple, her shorts and panties dangling from one hand. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, it seems that this is a rather unfair situation. You still have clothes on." With an audible pop, Draco released her nipple, and tugged his boxers off. Hermione was left to admire his gorgeous body. His entire body was toned from what Hermione assumed was a summer full of training, and he had a full body tan. There was a trail of blonde hair, so light that it was almost silver, leading from his belly button down to a perfect cock. It was magnificent, in Hermione's eyes, and she had seen her fair share, what with staying with the Weasley twins, Ron and Harry for extended periods of time. It wasn't too long, and not too short, with just enough width to be substantial, not intimidating.

"Like what you see, here, Granger?" Hermione just groaned. "Merlin, Malfoy, when did you grow up? Shit." Draco just smirked. "I guess I should be proud, then. I have never before heard the perfect Miss Granger swear before." Hermione made a face at him, and stuck out her tongue. "Oh dear, I can't have you doing that now… Don't stick it out without intending to use it, my dear Gryff." Having had enough of the talk, and not enough action, Hermione tackled Draco to his back, and again straddled him, loving the feel of his firm member between her legs.

Draco groaned, and rocked his hips. "Enough fucking foreplay, Hermione. I need this. I haven't ever wanted something this much." Hermione giggled at him. "That's cause you're just a little virgin boy, dear. No worries, I'll fix that soon enough." She reached down, and wrapped her hand around his cock, rubbing it along her nether lips and her clit. She groaned loudly, and threw her head back. Deciding that she had had enough, she raised her hips, and positioned Draco's member at her entrance. Draco's head was thrown back, his breath coming in pants, fingers dug into the dirt. "Draco, Draco, look at me." His eyes opened, and Hermione almost came just from the smoldering orbs that struggled to focus on her. She sunk down onto his cock, moaning as she whispered, "I was a virgin too."

Draco grabbed her hips, and flipped them over, filling her to the brim with his cock. Hermione arched under him as he flicked a nipple with one hand, and wriggled beneath him, trying to get him to move. He found that he couldn't hold back, and slowly pulled almost all the way out, only to slam his hips back to hers. Hermione nearly screamed, the feelings overwhelming her, the mingling pain and pleasure. "Oh fuck… Malfoy… Please…" Draco started to fuck her, harder and harder, gaining speed, feeling her clench around him, and watching her face as she let the sensations wash over her. "Please, please, Malfoy, harder. FUCK! Oh yeah. Right ther- Shiiiiit…" Draco was nearing the edge, and by the way she was rambling and moaning, he guessed that she was, too. He leaned down, putting his mouth by her ear, and angling his hips differently. She screamed. "Oh fuck, yes, oh Merlin, please, please, please, shit. Fuuuuuuuck…" "Say my name." She just panted heavily, and arched hard against him. "Shit! Hermione, just… Oh dear Merlin… Say my fucking name. Say it."

Hermione loved the feeling of his breath in her ear, so much that she barely heard what he was saying. "Malfoy, oh fuck, Malfoy, just fuck me. Please, just fuck me." He realized what he was doing to her, and blew another stream of air into her ear. "Not that name, Granger. Com- Oh shit, just fucking say it. I'm so fucking close. Please, say my name." Hermione writhed beneath him, feeling the edge approach her. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I'm so close, so cl- Draco! Oh shit, Draco! Please…" Hearing his name spill from her lips in passion sent Draco over the edge. Lights burst in front of his eyes as he filled her to the brink with his cum, and then some. Hermione felt the first burst of liquid in her, and she lost it. "Oh fuck, Draco, I'm cumming. Oh shit…" Her entire body tensed, and her pussy clenched hard around Draco's cock, milking the last of his load out of him. There were little stars everywhere she looked, and she couldn't think straight.

They lay there, together for a few minutes in silence, before Draco softened fully, and pulled out of Hermione, making her whimper with the loss. They both sat up, and put their clothes back on, Hermione's bra fixed with a simple "reparo" spell. They helped each other stand, still not a word spoken between them, and took off at a light jog again. All of a sudden, Hermione sighed. "Shit, I've never come like that before." Draco looked over at her in shock, he had never heard anything like that come out of her mouth before. Well, other than what she had been screaming earlier. He smiled at her. "Me neither." Then, they looked at each other, just remembering that they were supposed to be racing. Hermione started sprinting first, knowing that she could keep it up for the rest of the way home, spurred forwards by the sound of Draco right behind her.

Suddenly, she saw the deep purple of Draco's shirt out of the corner of her eye, and kicked it up a notch. Draco followed suit. Soon they were neck and neck, and the tower was in sight, Ginny and Blaise both looking for them in the grass. Ginny spotted them first, and hit Blaise on the shoulder, pointing at them. Blaise took his arm from around Ginny's shoulders, hoping that Draco hadn't noticed in his quest to win. Luckily, he hadn't. He was too busy trying to beat Hermione. They remained tied, until Hermione found a burst of energy, and got a step ahead of Draco.

Draco snarled, deep in his throat, and lunged for her, as she lunged for the wall. He managed to grab her hand, and yank her back, reaching for the wall himself. They both crashed into the wall at the same time. Thankfully for them, Ginny had forseen such an end, and had placed a cushioning spell on the wall. Also, thankfully, Ginny and Blaise couldn't see them, because of the overhanging balcony, as they were pressed pretty close to each other, faces a few mere centimeters apart, Draco's thigh rubbing against Hermione's throbbing clit, and Hermione's thigh pressed against Draco's rapidly hardening cock. He kissed her lightly, before letting her go, and willing his erection to go down.

"They can't know about this." Hermione motioned up at the balcony, and Draco nodded. He did not want a repeat of last night. They sank down into the grass right as Ginny and Blaise burst through the door, and ran to them. "That was amazing, you guys! A perfect tie!" Ginny jumped around, excited that she wouldn't have to choose between her two best friends, before leaning down to collect them in a hug. "But what took you so long? You guys were gone for 2 hours, and I know for a fact that Hermione can do that in one." Unbeknownst to Ginny and Blaise, Draco and Hermione shared a look, trying really hard not to burst into laughter.

---

A/N: Well guys, I know that was a bit of a random smut scene, but don't worry, this is not going to turn into some sappy Dramoine story right now. Trouble's a brewin'.

However, I hope you enjoyed it, in your on special little ways, and if you have any comments, questions, or general reflections, there's a little button down here somewhere that makes it simple for you.

Oh look! I found it!

Right over here!

^ _ ^ Love you guys,

Cari


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Well hey guys, the chapters are still in the making, and the ideas are still coming fast. I hope you're all liking the story, and I cannot stress this enough; I need reviews to become a better writer. Practice may make perfect, but constructive criticism makes Cari a happy writer, and happy writers write better stories. ^ _ ^

Well, on with the story.

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Ginny and Blaise watched Hermione and Draco go off running, and they both sighed in relief. Both Hermione and Draco needed something to help them relax. They sat there, their highs sweeping over and through them, and watched until their friends had rounded a corner and were completely out of sight. Ginny sighed, and rested her head on Blaise's shoulder. "I'm so tired. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks." Blaise looked at her, and saw her eyelids fighting to stay open. "Hey, go to sleep. We have an hour or something. I'll wake you up an hour from now, alright?" Ginny nodded in thanks and retreated into the library, collapsing on the mattress and falling into a deep sleep.

Ginny woke up to Draco kissing his way up her thigh, fingers tracing patterns on her hips and sides. She moaned, and his eyes lifted to meet hers. She nearly came just from the look in his smoldering, silver eyes. And then his tongue found her clit. She pushed her hip up to meet Draco's probing tongue, and groaned. "Oh, Draco, please." Her head rolled back on the pillows, and she thrashed as he slowly slipped one long, thin finger into her moist heat. She tried to push her hips down onto his hand, but he just held her with his free hand, and pulled his finger out a bit, until it was only in her up to the first knuckle. "Dracooo…" Ginny wailed, and tried not to push against him again. Draco smiled, and slowly slid his finger the rest of the way into her, curling it, and brushing against something inside her that made her scream. Draco started pumping his finger into her faster, before adding another one, soon adding yet another.

By this point, Ginny was arching off the mattress, begging Draco to fuck her. He just smirked, and started licking her clit furiously, until she tighted around him, and gasped his name. Ginny lay there in the afterglow, panting, and just generally trying to get her composure back. She looked up to see Draco jerking himself off quickly, head thrown back, on his knees, looking like a god. She came again, without touching herself, just as his balls tightened and-

"Ginny, wake up, it's been an hour." She sat bolt upright, looking around her, confused. Blaise was standing outside of the door, yelling at her. She groaned, and collapsed back against the mattress, still feeling the lingering tingles from her recent orgasm.

Blaise, thinking that she had gone back to sleep, went over to shake her into the land of the living. As he approached the mattress, he smelt the distinctive smell of female arousal, and felt his pants tighten. He wondered, with a chuckle, who she had been dreaming of.

He knelt on the mattress, purposefully putting his knee in between her legs, close enough that she would rub up against him when she sat up. Ginny tried to roll over when she felt the mattress sink, but her pussy found Blaise's knee, and she had to fight to hold back a moan. However, she heard Blaise's sharp intake of breath as he felt her heat seeping through his pants. She felt him get up, and looked up, to see his retreating back. He looked back at her over his shoulder, saying something. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Blaise laughed quietly. "Get up, Gin. I need to go take care of something, you go watch for the others." Ginny sighed, but she got up and went out to the balcony, casting a warming charm, and curling up in the chair. She looked out onto the school grounds, hypnotized by the gorgeous rolling countryside, and the way the early morning sun cast an ethereal glow over everything in sight. She didn't see Hermione or Draco, but didn't think much of it.

Blaise came back out a few minutes later, and collapsed in the chair next to her. "They haven't shown up yet? That's odd." Ginny nodded, pulled out of her trance-like state by Blaise's words. She sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder. He looked over at her in surprise, and smiled when she just nuzzled further into his neck. "Hermione trusts you, so I do, too." Ginny mumbled into his neck, and he just nodded, resting an arm around her shoulders. All of a sudden, Draco and Hermione hurtled around the corner, and Blaise nudged Ginny, quickly taking his arm from around her shoulders. He didn't want to be too much of a hypocrite.

---

The four teenaged witches and wizards were wandering around the entrance to Hermione's rooms, looking at all the tapestries, studying bloodlines, seeing how Draco, Ginny, and Blaise were related. Hermione was just looking, so that she could learn, in typical Hermione fashion. A knock at the door roused her from her learning trance, and she answered it.

As soon as she did, she had a bundle of laughing red ahri, and, looking over her cousin's laughing head, she saw Ron and Harry. Cara straightened, and pushed Hermione aside. We're coming in. I want to see where you live now, dearest cousin. Hermione desperately tried to keep her out, but gave up as soon as her cousin turned back to her with wide eyes. "Really, Mia? Really?" Cara turned her head to look at the two boys outside the door. "Do you really think it's such a good idea to have them here?" Hermione squared her shoulders at her cousin, trying to match Cara's height.

"I would be less worried about it if you three hadn't broken into my rooms." Cara's face fell. "We thought it might be a nice surprise for you. We haven't seen you in ages. It's been months, and you've barely said a word to any of us." Hermione looked at Harry, and raised an eyebrow. Cara caught this, and looked at Hermione, hurt.

"Oh, I see how it is. You can spend some of your precious time with the Great Harry Potter, and some Slytherin Princes, but not your cousin who is just starting at this school." Hermione blushed, and dropped her chin. "I know, I know, I'm horrible. I've just had so much on my mind, that I can't seem to find time for everyone. Maybe you could stay over soon?" Cara smiled slightly, and nodded.

Hermione looked over her shoulder at the three people behind her, and saw that they were all looking at her, apprehensively. Blaise mouthed something at her, and she didn't understand. "What?" Blaise shook his head. He looked over at Cara, pointedly, who seemed to understand him. "He wants to know if they should hide somewhere, dear." Hermione looked back to Blaise, and he tilted his head slightly, in question. Hermione started to nod, before Harry and Ron started to protest.

"Hey, 'Mia, why the hell are you keeping us locked out here? Let us in!" Hermione quickly spun around, just as the door burst open, and her heart stopped. It seemed to her as if the world had suddenly slowed down, and had all the sound muted. It felt to her as if everything was still for a lifetime, then noise broke through the spell, and all hell broke loose.

Ron was yelling incoherent things at everyone in the room, and Harry was standing there, looking in between Draco and Hermione with a sad gaze. She looked at him pleadingly, hoping that he understood. Ron could not know. If he knew…

"…And you, Ginny, how could you do this? Talking to the enemy! Just wait until I tell mom! You'll be disowned! Thank god, you cheating little unloyal whore." With that, both Draco and Blaise snarled, Draco grabbing her, and standing in front of her, wand pointed at Ron's chest. Blaise stood where he was, hand on his wand, still in his pocket. Hermione went to stand in between Ron and Draco. "Ron, how could you say such things? She's your sister!"

Ron looked at her, incredulous. "You too, Hermione? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!" She felt as if he had punched her in the stomach. She felt tears spill out of her eyes before she could stop them, and Harry took a step towards her. Stopped by the vicious growl that ripped itself from Blaise's throat, he slowly stepped back, and law his wand on the floor, looking to Hermione.

She stood there, reeling from the pain of her friend's words, and cried. A hand fell on her shoulder, and she leaned into Blaise's comforting strength. That just set Ron off again. "Your Slytherins fighting your battles, now, huh? What the fuck happened to you Hermione? You know what, I'm fucking done. We're fucking done." He turned to leave, but was stopped when he was hit with a body-bind curse. As he fell backwards, he saw Hermione's wand pointed at him, her breath coming in pants, and Blaise holding her back.

Harry bent down, and picked him up, and leaned him against the now closed door. Hermione raised her head, and squared her shoulders, shrugging out of Blaise's hold. He bent down and whispered in her ear. She leaned back into him, and nodded.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, and I have absolutely no idea where you get off, saying these types of things.. I hope you don't understand how hurtful they are, but somehow I know you do, and that's exactly why you say them. I seriously don't know how I have been so ignorant of this personality trait of yours for so many years, but you know what? I am finished. Done. Don't expect to be able to some crawling back to me, begging for my friendship. You're a weak wizard, and you don't even try to fix that. You follow Harry around like some kind of fucking puppy. I hope you realize what you've just lost by saying those words, and I hope it hurts you more than you have ever been hurt before."

Everything was still, and everyone in the room was looking at Hermione in shock. Draco, Blaise, and Cara were looking at her with pride, but they were still shocked speechless. Blaise started clapping slowly, and Ginny picked it up next. Soon everyone except Harry, Hermione, and Ron were clapping, and a smirk to rival Malfoy's has slowly spread its way across Hermione's face.

"Oh, and one more thing, Ron? See this? This is me 'fraternizing with the enemy.'" She made quote mark in the air with her fingers, before pulling Blaise's face to hers, and kissing him solidly. His eyes widened, and then drifted closed. He pulled Hermione to him, forgetting completely about their audience, and an angry Draco.

After a very thorough snog session, Hermione and Blaise broke apart and smiled at each other. Harry coughed lightly, catching Hermione's attention, and taking a step towards her. Again, Blaise stepped in front of Hermione, as if to shield her, but this time, she pushed him out of the way, and walked over to Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry, but this is how it worked out, and I'm not going to change a thing." Harry nodded sadly, and pulled her into a hug, locking eyes with Blaise over her shoulder.

When they separated, Harry went over to Blaise, and shook his hand. "I have only heard good things about you from our little 'Mia, over there, so I'll trust her. Take good care of her, or I might have to resort to extreme measures." Blaise smiled widely at him, and pulled him into a man-hug. "You're a good man, Harry Potter, and I am proud to follow you. Hermione is very lucky to have a friend like you."

Harry smiled at Blaise's admission to being on the side of the light, and then turned to Draco and Ginny. Ginny peered out from behind her Slytherin, and smiled. "Drake, it's alright, let me have a second with Harry." She sauntered slowly over to him, and stopped only when she was a few centimeters from him. She tilted her face up, and kissed him lightly on the mouth. There was a snarl from both Draco and Cara, and silently, Blaise huffed in anger. She pulled back and rolled her eyes. "Honestly." Harry looked at her, confused.

"Harry, there was a time when I loved you, but now that love has turned brotherly, and I am very glad that I was able to get over that. I hope you can accept Draco as my friend, just as I accepted the fact that I now longer have you." Harry nodded, and smiled at Draco.

"So, Draco, I guess our prediction wasn't fully accurate. We said we'd never be friends, but seeing as that is almost inevitable now… I am here to offer you my hand in friendship. I accept that hand that you held out to me in first year. I guess I wasn't able to choose the right sort for myself in the end." Draco bowed his head, and accepted the hand.

Harry looked back at Ron, and then Hermione, perplexed. What should we do with him?

Hermione placed a silencing spell on him, and a locking charm on the door. She picked up his body, and nearly fell over. "Some help here?" Draco and Harry came over, and lifted him up, following Hermione into the library. They set him down on a couch, and Hermione lifted the body-bind.

It was almost comical the way that he immediately sprang back to life, trying to scream what everybody assumed were obscenities, and becoming even more agitated when he realized that he couldn't make a sound.

He wreaked havoc on the room for a while, before he started on the people themselves. That's when things turned ugly.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, but I just had to put my dog down, and as you can imagine, that was a difficult thing for me to do.

Now, about the story, don't get too confused yet, things will turn out alright in the end. I think. But anyways. I hope you enjoyed it, and there's another chapter on the way.

Love to you all,

Cari.


	9. Chapter 9

hA/N: I know I left you guys hanging a bit there last week, and I am dreadfully sorry for that. You best be thankful that I am not one of those writers who will post a chapter, and then wait for reviews until I post the next one, because in that case, there would only be like, one chapter. I think I have 2 reviews right now… T_T You guys make me sad with the lack of support.

** Sex Warnings ** ^ _ ^

…

Everything in his mind had gone black. Thoughts were whirling in circles within his head, and none of them were good ones.

The next thing he remembered was screaming; blood-chilling, piercing screams; screams that reverberated in his head like an echo in a cave. He sat bold upright, panting heavily, just as if it was from a scene from one of those muggle movies that Hermione was always telling him about, and forcing him to watch.

Suddenly, he realized that he was not in his bead, and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a bed in the infirmary, and the room was empty, but for one cloaked man. He jumped, and tried to scramble as far away as possible, but the man started to walk towards him, and he found that he could go nowhere.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you are to come with me. I mean you no harm, unless you should resist me." Ron looked at the man. He recognized that voice, he knew he recognized that voice.

Suddenly curious, he stopped trying to get away, and instead tried to stand. When he put his feet on the floor, and lifted himself off the bed, his legs gave way under him, and he crumpled towards the ground. When he was stopped by two strong arms, he surprised himself by grabbing onto the person who saved him, and hanging on tightly.

He felt the familiar pull of apparation, and vaguely remembered thinking that it was odd to be apparating from inside Hogwarts, before he found himself in a gorgeous cave, flooded with sunlight from an array of small holes in the ceiling and walls.

The man holding him set him softly on the ground, holding him up under the arms. "Do you think you can walk?" Ron shivered as this stranger's breath ghosted over his neck and ears. He mentally berated himself when he felt the familiar tingles of arousal in his lower extremities.

"Uh, yeah… I think I can, thanks." The man slowly took his arms away, grabbing Ron again when his legs couldn't support him. Ron blushed at his weakness, and, in a very unmanly manner, squeaked when the man picked him up bridal style, and carried him to a room hidden in the wall of the cave.

The room was, like the main cave, beautiful. There was a wide hole in the wall opposite the entrance, and it had drapes of grass and moss. The bed was a recess in the wall, and the mattress seemed to be made of a kind of mossy substance, with pillows of the same material, and fur covers. The man set him down on the bed, and he found that it was the softest thing he had ever felt before. This man sat beside him on the bed, and pulled the drapes closed.

Ron suddenly was pricked with a bit of fear. The door was closed, and because of the nature of rock, it was a likely possibility that nobody would hear if he screamed. Well, actually, there had been no people in the main room of the cave, so it was also a possibility that there was nobody there to hear him anyways.

The man slowly took off his hood, and Ron had to hold back a groan when his face was revealed. Lucius Malfoy sat there, looking slightly apprehensive, and obviously trying hard not to make eye contact with Ron.

Ron's first reaction was to scoot away from Lucius as fast as possible, but he quelled that instinct, not wanting to upset this dangerous, dangerous man. Instead, he looked at the man, seeing the changes since the last time they had met, in the final battle.

The man was more haggard, more rugged looking. His once perfect blonde hair was now in dreadlocks, and there were dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks were more hollowed, and he looked almost like a skeleton. He had lost a ton of weight, and he hadn't been too bulky before, anyways.

The thing that kept Ron's attention was his eyes. They looked like the eyes of a man who knew he was dying, and who knew that there would be nobody there to care at all. His heart constricted, and when Lucius locked eyes with him, he nearly cried, while at the same time, nearly blowing a load in his pants.

This man was beautiful, and while Ron had never harbored homosexual tendencies before, he sure did right now. He shifted uncomfortably, trying desperately to hide the rapidly forming tent in his pants. He silently thanked whoever up there was watching over him for his loose pants.

When he squirmed, Lucius looked for all the world like a man who had just had his heart broken. He looked away, quickly, and stood to leave. "I'll leave you to your thoughts. You must have may questions. This is your room. There is a closet across from the bed, and you will find clothes in there to wear to dinner tonight, if you wish to attend, if not, just call for me. My room is right across the way from yours." He walked to the door, dragging his feet, shoulders hunched, not looking at all like the man that the Wizarding world had known.

Ron felt his heart constrict once again, and eyes pricked with tears. "No." Lucius stopped, looking back over his shoulder sadly at Ron. "Don't go. Oh Merlin, please don't go." He heard the door slide closed, the sound of stone scraping against stone, and his heart sank. He looked up, hoping that he might see Lucius standing there, but the room was empty. He sank back onto the pillows and sighed.

On the other side of the stone wall, Lucius slumped against the wall, and looked sadly up at the ceiling. "How is it that I am always left alone?" With that, he pushed himself off the wall, and walked over to his own room, collapsing against his pillows just like the redhead across the cavern.

---

Back at Hogwarts, there was an uproar. Four students had been attacked, and the student who had attacked them had been kidnapped from the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey, Mr Filch and Mrs. Norris had all been stunned and body bound. They were found outside of McGonagall's office, and the Headmistress had taken it as a warning, imposing a stricter curfew, and locking the doors to the school, not letting anybody in or out.

School went on like this for weeks, and as the days grew longer, everybody started going a little stir crazy. During the second week, 3 people were sent to the hospital wing for injuries sustained from fighting. The next week, five more people were added to those injured, and the number of detentions was steadily rising.

The teachers didn't know how to handle it anymore, and soon there were people being sent home; suspended, or, if their actions were bad enough, expelled. However, the incidents of violence were still rising, and soon the Headmistress would have to do something, before everything turned to chaos.

At the end of the first month, when there was no longer any room in the hospital wing for those injured, McGonagall gave up, and called the Ministry for help. A huge team of Aurors was sent in to help, and the doors to the school were finally opened again. Because of the fact that there had been a major security breach, nobody had been getting letters, and the Daily Prophet hadn't been delivered for weeks.

The first morning that the school was reopened, all of the owls that had letters for the students swarmed the Great Hall, dropping letters left, right, and center. All of the students were so happy to be hearing from their families and friends that they did't pay any attention to the Daily Prophet, instead, just throwing them out before even glancing at the first page.

---

Ron had been trapped in this cave with Lucius Malfoy for a month now. He was allowed to write home, tell them he was okay, and even tell them where he was or who he was with. The first time he wrote, he just didn't want to worry his mother, so he didn't say anything, other than the fact that there was someone who needed help, and he couldn't help them while being at school He reassured his family that he was perfectly alright, and that he would come home eventually.

A few weeks went by, and he received a letter from home, saying how worried everyone was, and asking if he had read the Daily Prophet recently (he had). The front page story had been how Hogwarts had closed their doors, and both teachers and students were on lockdown within the school. There were side stories about the suspensions and expulsions, but the main article was about how a student had been kidnapped, and was now missing, presumed alive, but nobody had seen any evidence of him being there.

Immediately, he wrote home, fully intending to tell them everything, but found that when it came to do it, he couldn't. He couldn't force himself to write those two words on the page that could have saved him from an almost certain life of torture, and a likely untimely death.

He crumpled up his third piece of parchment, and started at the fresh one beneath it. He had no idea what to write. He dropped his quill in the inkwell, and leaned back in his chair. He had regained all his strength over the past month, from potions that had been left at his door. Since the first night, he had seen Lucius but once, and that was when he came to give him parchment and a quill, and told that he could write.

In the mornings, he would find fresh fruit, pumpkin juice, and either pastries or some other form of hot food, sitting outside his door. At lunch, there would be finger sandwiches and tea, with biscuits, and for dinner, there was always the most elegantly presented plates, full of succulent meats and potatoes and fresh herbs and vegetables.

In the time that he had been there, Ron had explored most of the cave, and he had discovered that it was in the middle of a rainforest somewhere. The cave was huge, with hundreds of rooms just off the main entrance area, and there was one tunnel that led to the outside. From the outside, the cave just looked like a huge boulder, surrounded by trees on all sides. The most confusing thing to him, was the fact that there were no little holes in the rock, no visible way for light to be brought down into the cave.

As Ron wandered around the perimeter, he saw smaller boulders, cleverly hidden in the trees, and upon closer inspection, discovered that they were the roofs of various rooms. He happened upon a small rock pool just outside of his room, and a small patio that he had never seen through the window. He visited this place often, and sat to write stories, or just to sit and think. It was through one of these thinking sessions, that he decided to approach Lucius, and ask why he had been brought there.

By the end of the first week, Ron had managed to tell the time by when he was brought food. At 8, he got breakfast, at 1 he got lunch, and at 7 he got dinner. By the end of the second week, he had figured out how to cast a time charm, and now he just left his wand on the table, with the time shining up on the wall. It wasn't like he needed his wand here, anyways.

He glanced at the time. It was 6:59, with ten seconds left until 7. He stood, and went to the door. Listening very closely, he heard soft footsteps coming towards the door. He heard the tray being put down as quietly as possible, and grabbed the handle, ready to throw the door open at any moment.

The first of the regular three knocks came, and Ron slid the door open as quickly as possible. He ended up with an armful of tall blonde wizard. Ron and Lucius stared at each other for a moment, and then Lucius straightened up, almost pulling free of Ron's arms. Ron didn't let go.

Standing tall, Lucius was a good 5 inches taller than Ron, but he was scrawny. Gently, he pried Ron's arms from around himself, and walked into the little room. He looked Ron up and down, silently thanking the gods for baggy clothes. Ron was wearing clothes from the closet, and he had never looked better. They were muggle clothes, sure, but damn, they were comfortable, and they looked great on Ron's body. He was wearing distressed jeans, that were a pale blue, and clung nicely to his calves and thighs, and a tight, hunter green t-shirt that showcased his muscles very nicely. Lucius dragged his eyes away from the hint of a bulge in the front of the jeans, to Ron's face. The clear blue eyes were running up and down Lucius's body, and he had to hold back a groan at the heat in Ron's face.

The copper colored hair had grown longer since the beginning of the month, and now resembled Harry Potter's in the way that it fell into his face. Working out in the sun had done Ron's body good, and he looked to Lucius as a tanned god that had fallen from the heavens. His eyes drifted back to Ron's face, and when their eyes locked, he failed to repress a groan. He felt his knees weaken, and he collapsed to the floor, only to be stopped by strong arms, that lifted him up again, and pulled him to a strong chest.

"Seems like I'm repaying a favor." Ron's breath ghosted over his neck and ear, making Lucius shudder against the redhead, and creating an uncomfortable tightness in his pants. Ron chuckled as Lucius whimpered, and ground his aching cock against the growing bulge in Ron's pants. This time it was Ron's turn, and the breathy moan sent Lucius wailing over the edge. He felt his balls tighten, and tried to stop what he knew was coming, but to no avail. Cum flew out of his cock in spurts, sending him into a state of supreme bliss. Again, his legs collapsed, but this time, he didn't go anywhere, tucked tightly into Ron's hard chest.

Ron picked him up, and walked over to the bed, putting him down, and watching him bask in the glow of post-orgasmic bliss. Watching over him, it wasn't long before Ron heard soft snores, and looked over to see Lucius curled up like a kitten in the warmth of the blankets.

He stood, and walked out onto the patio outside his room. The sun had set, so he went back inside to grab his wand, and light the lamps that he had set up along the path from his room to the pool. He stripped off all of his clothes, and sank into the warm water, moaning as he felt his muscles finally relax.

He leaned back against the wall of the tub, and replayed the previous hour in his head. When he had seen Lucius looking him up and down with that kind of look in his eye, he couldn't do anything but hope that it wasn't too obvious how much he was affected by it. He took his time to admire the older man as well. In the last month, Lucius seemed to have gained some weight, and gotten more muscular. He was wearing loose drawstring pants that seemed to be made of some organic material, like hemp. The shirt he was wearing finished the outfit perfectly. It was a white tank top that let him show off his long arms, with evidence of muscles forming beneath the skin. Lucius's eyes were like brushed steel, an almost silvery color that showed everything he had been through. They showed a man who was trying to let down all his walls and start over again, and they showed the terrors of his past.

When they locked eyes, Ron had nearly lost it, and almost didn't catch him as he fell to the ground. He smiled at the memory of how Lucius reacted to his breath on his neck, just like when the roles had been reversed. When Lucius had come, Ron's world stopped. It was like seeing an angel. His head had been tilted back, eyes locked on Ron's as he wailed his name, rocking softly against the younger man.

Ron groaned, as he felt his cock get even harder. Just thinking about what had happened was almost enough to make him cum. Ron battled with himself. He knew that it was hypocritical of him to be thinking of a Malfoy, a deatheater no less, in such a manner, but he couldn't help it. Damn if that man wasn't a walking wet dream. Suddenly, a mental picture of Lucius, stepping out of the pool, hair dripping streams of water down his lithe frame popped into Ron's head, and his cock twitched. Wrapping a hand around his erection, he started to pump. After just a few strokes, he was ready to blow, so he stopped, and let his head fall against the ground behind him, his ass grinding against the ledge that he was sitting on. Seeing as it was rock, there were some bumps, and one of the larger ones somehow managed to find its way in between his ass cheeks.

Ron groaned loudly, and ground himself hard against the rock that was poking at his entrance. He had never considered how good it would feel to have something poking at his ass, and finally realized what he should have a long time ago. He needed something up there, badly. He lifted his hips slightly, and slid his hand underneath himself. Just as he started to lightly rub the puckered hole, he felt a hand slide up his thigh towards his cock. His eyes flew open, and his muscles gave way, impaling himself on one long finger. He bit his lip hard as a groan ripped through his body.

He looked at the man before him, and he was suddenly brought back to his earlier fantasy. Lucius was standing before him, a small smirk on his gorgeous face. "Need a little help there?" His voice was like melted chocolate, rich and smooth, and it made Ron whimper softly. "I'll take that as a yes, I assume."

Suddenly, Ron found himself being lifted, and his finger slipped out of his asshole, making him moan with the loss. Lucius set him down on the edge of the pool, and knelt before him on the ledge. He looked Ron up and down, before groaning. "God, you have the most gorgeous body". Ron blushed, and Lucius just bent down to lick and suck his way up Ron's leg. The closer he got to the aching muscle that was leaking in apprehension, he more vocal Ron got.

Finally, Ron gave up with being modest. "Fuck! Please, Lucius, please, please! Oh fucking Merlin!" Lucius chuckled, and licked up the underside of Ron's cock. He looked up, in amusement when he realized just how close Ron actually was, and swallowed Ron's cock whole. Ron sank his fingers into his dreadlocks, and nearly screamed Lucius's name. They locked eyes as Lucius hummed, deep in his throat, and sucked hard as Ron started to buck wildly into his mouth, spraying a huge load of cum down his throat.

As he lay there, letting the sensations wash over him, the only thing that Ron remembered thinking was that maybe it wasn't so bad to be trapped here, after all.

---

It had to be around 3, she thought. "Oh, Blaise, where the bloody hell are you?" She was stretched out on the couch, worrying about her friend. She had been lying in bed, reading a book, when she had glanced over at the clock, and noticed that it was long past curfew, and Blaise still hadn't come back yet. Now she had been sitting up, waiting for him to come back for 2 hours.

Suddenly, the entrance to the common room opened, and Blaise stumbled through with Draco, both of them laughing wildly, and falling everywhere. Hermione rolled her eyes, and stoop to help them. When the boys saw her, both of them licked their lips, and started slinking towards her like a pair of animals.

She felt the heat grow in between her legs, and had to remind herself that they were both drunk. She slowly backed away from them, but they kept on advancing on her. She cast a sobriety spell over Draco, hoping that he could keep Blaise in check. She couldn't think of a reason for not doing the same to Blaise.

Draco felt the familiar sting, and everything became clearer. He looked over to see his best friend advancing an a cowering Hermione, and wondered why she hadn't cast the same spell on Blaise. He shook his head, to clear them of the thoughts running through his mind, and grabbed Blaise by the arm.

"Steady, mate. She's not in the mood right now. Don't scare her. I'm going to go back to my dorm now, and leave her to take care of you. Is that alright?" He looked over at Hermione to see if that was okay with her, and when he saw her incline her head slowly, he patted Blaise on the back, and nodded at Hermione, before turning to leave.

Hermione was in her element. She was usually the sober girl who had to deal with her two wasted best friends, when they were horny, and sometimes so tanked that they were throwing up all over everything. She held Blaise's arm, and led him to his rooms.

When they got to his room, he suddenly stopped, making her crash into him. He turned around, so that they were face to face, no more than a few centimeters apart. His arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and pulled her flush against his hard body. She had to hold back a moan as she felt something poking into her stomach, reigniting the flames in her belly. Their faces were mere centimeters apart now.

Blaise blew alcohol scented breath into her face, making her swoon, and she was suddenly grateful for the way that he clung to her. With one hand, he traced the lines of her face, starting with her forehead and eyes, which he kissed when he was done. Then, he lightly feathered his touches across her cheekbones, again following each with a light kiss. Next was her nose, then he skipped over her mouth, going instead to her jaw and neck, making her hold in a few more moans and whimpers as he found spots on her neck, and behind her ears that made her sigh. His hands stilled, and she looked into his eyes.

"Do the charm." The words were so soft Hermione barely understood, and when she did, she looked at him, confused. "I want to be sober for this." She nodded, and quickly cast the sobriety charm over him, watching as his eyes cleared. They were still for a moment, then his fingers found her lips, and she couldn't help but whimper, knowing what was sure to come.

Teasingly, he pretended to let go of her, and her face dropped. Seeing the look on her face, he chuckled, and pulled her back, tighter than before, if possible, and kissed her as light as a butterfly on the mouth. Heat rushed through her body, making her arch into his mouth, and kiss him back, hard.

They pulled apart, gasping for breath. Hermione looked up at Blaise as he towered over her, and smiled, cuddling into his chest. She didn't know what to think, and she didn't want to even try to picture what would come of this, so she just let herself be comfortable and happy in the moment as she and her Slytherin embraced in the light of the moon.

---

Author Babble:

Weeeeeell, that was the longest chapter yet. And ohmigod, I am SO sorry about the wait. It took me waaay too long t figure out how I wanted the Ron part to play out, and after that, the Hermione/Blaise bit.

Don't worry about pairings, everything will turn out in the end. Again, I must apologize for the wait, but now that I've passed this bump, I'm sure to be hammering out chapters one after another in no time. This is just the first this week.

Love to you with much Holiday spirit,

Cara


	10. Chapter 10

Babbles: Well, as you all know, it's that time of year when the little kiddies hope that a fat man in a red suit will somehow fit down their chimneys to give them presents if they've been good (personally, Santa creeps the shit out of me). For those of you that don't celebrate this overly commercialized holiday, have an amazing holiday season!

Well I guess I should stop ranting about the holidays and get back to thing you guys are here for; THE STORY! Alrighty, guys.

---

It was hard for everyone to believe that it was already Christmas time at Hogwarts; it felt like it was only yesterday that they had walked through that door, carefree, with the Golden trio still together, but those days were gone. Ron was still missing, and it had been discovered that Lucius Malfoy was out there somewhere. Harry and Hermione both feared that Lucius was the one who had taken Ron, but they also thought it possible that he had just up and left. After seeing Hermione with new friends, from the Slytherin house, no less, he must have felt that his best friend and first love had left him for the "enemy".

After the night when Blaise came home drunk, he and Hermione had been seeing each other on and off, and they found that they had a lot in common, and that they really cared for one another.

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the students who hadn't gone home for the holidays were sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch. Because it was so empty in the school, and the only people who had stayed were 7th years and some 6th years, there were only two tables in the Great Hall; one for the Professors, and one for the students.

At first, the Headmistress had been hesitant about letting the Slytherins and Gryffindors sit at the same table, but she got over it pretty quickly once she realized that they were not at each other's throats, but some were merely tolerating the presence of the others, and some were closer still.

Hermione and Blaise were sitting at opposite ends of the table, refusing to talk to each other, because they were in another fight. Draco and Ginny were sitting across from each other, playing footsie under the table, and Harry and Cara were watching the others interact. Harry looked surprised when he saw Draco look Ginny in the eye, and lick his lips, and wink seductively, but the look on his face got comical when he saw her toss her hair and smirk in response.

The thing with Hermione and Blaise was nothing new, they were either the epitome of a happy couple or the worst of enemies. Nearly everyone had urged Hermione to get out of the relationship, that it wasn't healthy for either of them to continue like that, but she just said that he made her happy, and the relationship went on.

The longer Ron was gone, the worse the relationship deteriorated. Blaise would accuse Hermione of being in love with Ron still, and she would fiercely deny it. Most nights Hermione would end up bawling in her room, wondering why she was still with Blaise, but then he would show up outside her door, begging for her to forgive him, and asking her to stay.

Harry was good at observing these things, and Cara was good at understanding things that most boys wouldn't, but then again, she was a girl, so that would make sense. She had gone to visit Hermione many nights, and found her in tears, determined to let Blaise go for good this time, but the next morning they would be attached at the hip again, sneaking kisses in the halls, and laughing with each other like they had never been apart.

Harry, for one, had had it. He was tired of seeing one of his closest friends sink into a hole that she didn't even know existed. He saw how the bags under eyes were getting darker each day, and how she was basically a skeleton, just skin and bones. He knew that everyone else noticed too, except Blaise and herself. He had talked to Cara, and they made a plan. They had decided that, Christmas or not, today was the day that this had to end for good.

--

After their encounter, Ron had only seen Lucius a handful of times, and each time resulted in a tightening in his crotch, and a good wanking session. He knew the Lucius was avoiding him, and thought that he knew the reason. When Lucius and he had gotten together that once, Lucius had been drunk, and Ron knew it. He had tasted the alcohol on his breath and lips. Ron had thought about the encounter over and over again, because, what else did he have to do in that place?

At first it had been like a vacation, just he was all alone and not allowed to leave, and now it was just a routine. He got up in the morning and did the same thing every single day. He was getting tired, and he wanted to know why he was there in the first place.

He had thought about that quite a lot as well. At first he thought that it was so that Lucius could get to Harry, but when nothing happened, and he wasn't threatened or teased about being the cause of his best friend's pain, he realized that was not it. Then, after the confrontation of sorts with the elder Malfoy, he started getting cocky, and thought that it was because Lucius wanted him, and thought that it was the only way that he could get him.

He then ran out of ideas. There where no clues anywhere. And it's not like he could just sneak into Lucius's room and snoop for answers. First of all, Lucius was probably not the kind of person who would keep all of that important stuff where people would look first, and secondly, his room was probably much more heavily guarded that Ron's.

The truth was, that Ron was lonely. He hadn't had much interaction with people recently, or at all in the past few months, and he was bored as well. He collapsed on his bed, and stared at the ceiling above him. He had to make a decision. Either leave, and likely die in the forest with no food, and no idea where he was going, and no wand, to boot, or he could stay here, with food, just no human contact.

He weighed all the pros and cons in his mind, and weighed them again. After that, he wrote them all down, and weighed them out again. The thing was, that he had found his answer, but he didn't like it.

The thing that he didn't know was that across the main hall there was a man doing almost the same thing. There were two lists sitting on this man's desk, with pros and cons, and the cons where winning. He sighed, and hung his head. He thought that he was done with the torturous ways of his past, but it seemed as though he had been wrong. He looked down at the paper and sighed once more.

He tried reasoning with himself to make it feel more right, and as it usually does for people, it worked for a while, until he started thinking about all the bad things that could come of his decision. Oh well, it was too late now, and it was going to be done. It's not like he had much left, anyways.

Ronald Weasley had to go.

---

"Blaise, I think we need to talk." He looked at her with sad eyes. "Oh Merlin. Not today, please not today. I knew this was coming, and I know what you're going to say, but not today. It's bloody Christmas!"

Seeing him begging her was nothing new, and to be quite honest, she got tired of it after awhile. At first she thought that it showed how deeply he cared for her, that a man of his stature could get down on his knees like a common servant and beg for forgiveness, but after a few months, it got old, and she wouldn't have any more of it. She didn't even get teary anymore.

"Blaise, I've had enough of this. Shed the fucking act. I understand it's Christmas, but I honestly don

t give a shit, and I think that you need to learn that you and me don't work. I am in pain, Blaise, actual physical pain. This relationship hurts me. I know that you always apologize, but when you say sorry, I believe that if you truly mean it, you wouldn't do it again, and you always do, so you've been lying to me as well."

Realizing finally that this was an unstoppable thing, Blasie leaned back on the couch, closed his eyes, and took it.

"Yes, I was falling for you. I was falling hard, and I knew that when I landed, I would land harder than ever before. So I pulled the parachute." Seeing Blaise's confusion, she rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes it's so frustrating being a muggleborn in a world where nobody knows what I'm talking about." Again, she sighed, and explained the concept of a parachute, in short, to her boyfriend. When she saw that he understood, she continued.

"Right. Where was I? Well when I pulled that string, the force pulled me up, quickly, and there was a moment of clarity. I saw that I can't keep hurting myself by staying with you, and I can't keep lying to you, saying that it's alright after we fight. This relationship isn't fair to you, or to me."

Blaise nodded, stood up, and walked away. Hermione's knees buckled, and she sat there on the carpet, tears running down her face, trying to hold back the screams that threatened to come from her throat. "Are you happy now? Was this what you wanted?" Her voice was hoarse from crying, and she looked over her shoulder.

From the shadows, a figure emerged, and nodded. "For following the orders, you will be rewarded. Check your Gringrotts account in a few days time." She frowned. The voice was familiar, as was the Death Eater's cloak. There had been no mask, but the robes could be from nothing more than a Death Eater's costume.

---

The regular knock came on his door, signaling dinner, and in this case, something more, but Ron wasn't there to hear it. He had disappeared hours ago, and was currently wandering the forest, completely lost.

When the door didn't open, Lucius worried. He pulled the door open, to see an empty room. There was no Weasley, and everything was as it had been when Ron first arrived, except for a small scrap of parchment on the desk. It was a list of pros and cons, and the pros seemed to have won. From what was written on the parchment, it seemed as though Ron had left, to see if he could find his way through the forest and back to the real world.

Lucius groaned. That boy was in for a lot of trouble. He pulled out the boy's wand, and lay it on top of the parchment, in case he decided that running away wasn't such a good idea. He sighed again, and lay on the bed that smelled like the redhead. "I was letting you go. I was coming to say goodbye."

He closed his eyes, and buried his face in the pillow, drinking in the musky smell of the boy who had been living with him for the past few months. As he fell asleep, the few tears that had been hiding escaped, and confused him. Why was he so upset? It wasn't like he was in love with the boy, he didn't even feel particularly attached to him. He sighed again, when he realized that it was because he would be lonely. Left alone yet again.

Ron couldn't help but feel guilty as he watched the man fall asleep from afar. He hadn't gotten far when he heard the knock on his door, and hid to watch what would happen. He thought that Lucius would fly into a rage, and come find him. He couldn't hear what Lucius said, but the tears were words enough to send pangs of something through Ron's chest.

He groaned. He just had to hope that those pangs didn't mean that he was becoming attached to his captor. They had explosive sex once, and then didn't talk for the rest of his stay. It's not like they were in a relationship or anything, Ron was just a prisoner, and Lucius just a lonely man, in hiding from the world that he had known his entire life.

Ron knew he needed his wand, so he sat down to wait until Lucius either fell asleep, or left, so that he could sneak back in and grab it, before leaving.

---

Hermione hadn't been approached by the Death Eater since the day when she and Blaise broke up, and she was still at a loss for a reason why they would want her to do it. What would they have to gain from it?

She had the urge to tell Blaise afterwards, but she thought about it, and realized that it was for the better anyways. Everything that she had said was true in some respect, as she hadn't been given a script, and had to make it up as she went. As she had been speaking, she realized that there was truth behind the words, and that was why they were coming so easy.

Blaise hadn't talked to her for a few days after the break up, and nobody had seen or heard from him. Hermione knew that her words had hit some points with him, as well, and she knew that he hadn't loved her; they were too young for that. She did love him though, as a brother, as a friend, just as she loved Harry or Ron. She hoped that someday he would see that, and also accept that they were never meant to be together romantically.

As she lay in her bed thinking this, there was a knock at her door, and she opened it to see Blaise standing there, looking her straight in the eye, something he hadn't been able to do when he left.

"I'm sorry for the way that this had to end. I knew that this was not something that was going to last forever, but I was really hoping that it could last longer than this, and that I wouldn't be broken up with on Christmas." He laughed a broken laugh, and Hermione went to say something, but he held up his hand, and continued.

"The thing that made me so upset was that your words made sense to me, and they made me realize some things that I should have realized long before I thought that we could ever be together like we were. I did love you, but, before you say anything, it was just as you love me, nothing more."

For a moment, Hermione thought she was dreaming. Here he was, standing here before her, saying all the things that she wanted him to say, all the things she needed to hear, until something came out of the blue and made her collapse on the floor, tears pouring down her face, her heart in her hands.

"I think I might be in love with Ginny." She might have been sobbing, she was deaf for all the thoughts running through her head. The only things she could hear were his words, hoping that he would clarify, hoping that it wasn't what it sounded like. "Don't take this wrong, but I think I realized when you were telling me why we were wrong." This time, she knew she sobbed. She must have been speaking her thoughts, because she felt warm arms around her, picking her up and cradling her like a baby.

"Shhh. It's okay, I know. I know, and I'm willing to risk it. Not right now, but sometime. Sometime."

It was only later when she realized what she had been saying, and what it was that Blaise knew.

"He'll kill you."

---

As Lucius lay on the bed, he thought he heard something outside of the window, and suddenly wished that he hadn't stayed in here. It was possible that Ron was coming home (when was it home, to begin with?) and he would be found in his bed. Then he realized that the flash of red that he had seen when he walked into the room might not have been his imagination. What if Ron had seen and heard everything, and was coming back to get his wand, and be sent home? He realized now, after doing his soul searching, that he really didn't want Ron to leave. He needed to be with someone, and as Ron was already there, wouldn't he be the perfect choice? If Ron wouldn't stay willingly, Lucius knew that he could keep him here until they grew to be friends, or perhaps more, and then Ron would want to stay.

The noise came again at the window, and Lucius made up his mind. He feigned sleep, and made sure that he was holding his wand loosely, ready to pounce, if needed.

He heard the soft rustle of clothing, and the thump that signaled Ron's entrance through the window. He tried to stay as still as possible.

Ron was as quiet as he could be, but every sound he made sounded like they were as loud as thunder, in his ears. He jumped lithely through the window, and landed as silently as he could. He looked over to the bed, and saw Lucius lying there. When he saw the man lying there, with telltale streaks on his cheeks, Ron had to fight not to bounce his own head off the wall a couple of times.

He should have known that it would be nearly impossible to come back and see this. Now he just wanted to stay here, with Lucius, and make sure that nothing could ever hurt him again. He had no idea where these feelings were coming from, but he suspected that it had something to do with that thing that Hermione told him about once, Stook-something Syndrome.

He shook his head, and held back a snort. What was he thinking? This man had trapped him here, done some stupid (albeit amazing) things with him in the pool, and then ignored him completely. There was nothing keeping him here, except for his typical Gryffindor instinct to help anyone in need.

He grabbed his wand off the desk, and started to walk back to window, before turning around, and approaching the bed. He didn't know why, but his mind had suddenly decided that it would be a good idea.

Lucius lay on the bed, ready to spring up and stop Ron from leaving, when suddenly, the boy stopped, turned around, and approached the bed. His heart sped up. How did the boy know that he was awake? Did he even know? What was he doing? All of the questions in his head suddenly ceased when he felt lips touch his forehead softly, and he heard Ron whisper. "I am so sorry." That was the only reason that he let Ron walk away.

---

Draco was sitting in the Astronomy tower, with Ginny's head in his lap. "Gin…" She looked up at him, and saw him looking out at the stars, the moonlight making his pale skin and hair shine almost translucent.

"Mmm?" His eyes met hers. "I've been thinking. I know that you hate it when boys give you mixed signals, especially after Po-Harry gave you such a hard time of it. I know that I've been doing that with you, and I'm sorry."

Her heart soared. He was finally going to say it. She smiled. They had been dancing around each other for months. Ever since Hermione and Blaise had gotten together, it had been expected that they would, too. Sure, they had kissed a couple of times, and it was amazing, but Ginny has been sure that Draco thought of her as a sister or something. She knew how she felt about him, and unless she was unconsciously into incest, she didn't love him like a brother.

She would be watching him walk towards her, and her mind would go beserk. Once, they were studying on the floor of Hermione's library (damn, that carpet's soft), and Draco had crawled over to grab a book that was beside her. Her mind had taken that image, and changed the context. Needless to say, she got wetter than she had ever been in mere seconds, and was pretty embarrassed when she whimpered as he pulled away, and she realized it as a fantasy.

"I really hoped that you weren't taking some of my actions and words in the wrong context, but I think that the incident in the library made some things a lot clearer for me." She was confused. What was he saying. She looked up at him again, brows furrowed this time, and almost cried when he couldn't meet her eyes. She knew what was coming next, and really didn't want to hear it, although she knew that she probably should.

"It's just… I've been really confused lately, and now's just not the right time for me to think about you girls and how you see relationships." She waited for the stinging pain of rejection to hit, and prepared herself for it, but it never came. Her eyes shot open, and she shot upright, almost knocking Draco out in the process.

He looked at her, startled, and she looked back at him, wide-eyed. "Umm… You okay, Ginny?" She stared at him for a bit, then startled him when she burst into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I'm perfectly fine." He eyed her skeptically. "I was, uh, worried that you'd take this harder… You're sure that you haven't just cracked?" She looked at him, now completely straight-faced.

"I don't think that I would have realized it without you saying that, but Draco, we're just meant to be friends, nothing more, unless you want some relief sometime," here she winked, and they both laughed a bit, "In which case, I am totally here for you, but these past few months have made me realize that you're an amazing big brother."

He smiled, a genuine smile, something even Ginny didn't get to see that often, and hugged her. "Thanks Gin, I think I needed that." She smiled, a quick little smile, and then took a deep breath.

"I know that you're not interested in me like that, but, as a big brother, you're bound to have an opinion on me dating. What is it?" He shook his head, and when he met her eyes, burst into laughter. "Gin, you're my best friend, besides Blaise. I don't care who you date, as long as they care for you, and are amazing to you."

Ginny smiled, and really quickly leaned in for a kiss. When her lips pressed ever-so-softly against his, Draco smiled into the kiss.

He never said that Ginny wasn't hot.

---

A/N: Okay, okay, yell at me. It took me WAY TOO DAMN LONG to pound this one out, and I can't particularly say that I'm happy with the way it came out... It was too cheesy and cliché for me, but I really really tried, and that's just the way my head wanted it.

Thanks to between-the-lines27 for your review, and I'm happy you like it. I hope none of this is moving too fast for you, or if you hate it, but I'm all open for haters and people who aren't a fan.

Love, Cari


	11. Author's Babble

Quick Author's Babble:

Hey guys, I just thought that I should drop a note to say that this story has officially gone on hold, and it could possibly be so for a while. I apologize to any of you who were following this, but I just couldn't go any further. I personally didn't like it, and I haven't gotten much feedback to the contrary.

Don't worry, I'm not one of those authors who will hold off entire stories because I don't get enough reviews or anything, but I do need a bit of criticism or encouragement. I love where this story could go, but at the point I am, it just can't go any further, because I ruined the line.

I currently have a team together and going through, word by word, trying to find where I went wrong, and figure out how to fix it. If you would like to join in the effort, send me an email. My email address can be found on my author's page, I'm pretty sure, and if not, check out my website. (Check it out anyways, just for the fun of it.)

I could really use every pair of eyes that's willing to try, so please give it a go.

I'm also in need of a beta for a new, original story that I am writing, so if you're down, or you know someone who's willing, leave me a message.

Au revoir, mes amis.

- Cari M


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